Wolf Thief
by catdompteuse
Summary: "You're Itachi Uchiha. I've been reading about you. In a non-creepy, non-stalkerish way, I mean. But, it wouldn't matter, cause I'm a thief and my whole career is centered on information." It took Aiyana another minute to realize her mistake. "Crap." ItaOC. BACK IN PROGRESS! SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT!
1. The First Encounter

Cat's Notes

Hello everyone! So those of you who have been on this website for a while may recognize this story. This is an **extreme **rewrite of the original. I've basically edited everything. I mean, there's still some original parts (especially in the first few chapters) and stuff, but most of it is new. Yup. I'll be willing to admit that this chapter is _not_ my favorite and I've tried fixing it, but can't figure out how. Suggestions/criticism are welcomed and appreciated! I'll update every Sunday.

ReadEnjoy&Review!

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><p>Wolf Thief<p>

Chapter 1: The First Encounter

_Aiyana sat at the edge of her mother's bed. A slight breeze blew through the window and rustled her dark hair. She couldn't bear to see her mother like this, lying deathly pale and feverish, prone to hallucinations and delusions on a hospital bed. It was a rare illness, one with no cure. Aiyana reached out and brushed a strand of her mother's hair out of her face. _

_Suddenly, her mother's body jerked uncontrollable, Aiyana stumbled backwards in shock, knocking down the chair she had been sitting in. "Adrik! Don't you leave this family!" she yelled her blood shot eyes shooting open. _

_"Mother!" Aiyana cried out shaking her mom in hopes it would snap her out of it. It didn't._

_"You'll be hunting your own daughter if you join that fucking gang!" She continued to yell. "Do you really want to? Do you really want to murder her?"_

_Aiyana felt tears streaming down her cheeks. The door behind her swung open, she had completely forgotten they were in a hospital. _

_"Would you really risk your own daughter to join some messed up group like that?" _

_One of the doctors grabbed Aiyana and dragged her away from her mother's bed, holding strong despite all her kicking and screaming. They couldn't! She wasn't going to let them, but struggling was proving nothing. The other three doctors that had entered the room surrounded her mother's bed. They were talking in whispery voices, then one of them glanced at the door, at her, and an expression of sorrow crossed his face. A needle went under her mother's skin and soon the screams faded to silence. _

Aiyana awoke drenched in sweat. The humid outside air had practically suffocated her. Well, that and the nightmare. The nightmare that had haunted her for years after her mother's death. It wasn't entirely the death of her mother that haunted her though. It was the questions that were left. The questions left without answers.

Instead of settling back into sleep where she knew the nightmare would return, Aiyana got up and changed into a dry set of clothes. Of course given the humid air the new set was bound to be soaked by noon. The dreaded sun was already peaking it's head above the horizon. It was going to be yet another day of walking underneath its relentless beams as she traveled through the Land of Fire. The place was definitely doing a bang-up job of living up to its name.

After a few minutes of packing her meager things which consisted of a backpack with clothes and other necessities and food for two days, a small pack of seven kunai, and a katana, she left the abandoned hunting cabin and stepped out into the woods. With a high whistle that could have been mistaken for a bird, she summoned her partner.

The coal black wolf came bounding out of the trees within seconds. His anterior legs landed on her shoulders with enough force to push any unprepared person to the ground. Kisses were showered upon her in the form of a wet tongue. It was as if the wolf hadn't seen her in ages not just a couple of hours ago.

She laughed lightly and pushed him off. "Okay, Mingan, okay! We need to get going!"

After one last lick, Mingan lowered his attack and dropped down to all fours. Gold eyes shimmered up at her. Grinning, she ruffled his fur on top of his head and moved along. There was a trail that led from the abandoned hunting cabin to the main road which she followed. Over the years of the disuse, it had become overgrown and hard to spot, but it was far better than the alternative of forcing her way through the overgrown bush. God knows she already had enough scratches on her body to suffice.

It was their voices that alerted her first. Her natural reaction made her freeze and listen. Though she was hardly ten feet from the main road, the trees and bushes did well in hiding her from view. She waited and listened. Information was a vital part of her chosen career path. It was surprising how much one could learn from just listening to others on the road.

Two men, both wearing oddly decorated cloaks and straw hats, were approaching. The matching outfits meant they were part of some odd organization or another. The taller one had blue skin; she noticed it from his hands which were turning over a scroll curiously as if he wanted to open it and peruse its contents. The shorter one, well, there wasn't much she could say about him other than the fact that he appeared to be part statue. For a moment, he seemed interested in the area she was hiding in, but the moment passed. Instead, he addressed his companion.

"Kisame-san, put that away."

Kisame chuckled and twirled the paper around. "It's funny to think such a little thing could release the Nine-Tails. Don't you think, Itachi-san?"

_"Aiyana."_

"Shit!" she swore under her breath, jumping ever so slightly. Unfortunately, slightly was enough to break some twigs and crinkle some leaves. She cringed at the sounds and prayed that the two men on the road hadn't heard her.

_"Aiyana, you must steal that scroll."_

_"Haka,"_ she growled at the voice. _"Stealing from them? With no planning whatsoever? Are you trying to get us killed?"_

_"As if I would let my container be killed,"_ Haka replied with a huff. _"And I believe they know you're here."_

_"Yeah, thanks to you,"_ Aiyana muttered mentally.

The shorter man (Itachi, she believed) was looking directly at her. He stared right through the trees, the bushes, right at her with deep red eyes. Her breath caught when she found that she was staring right back at him and couldn't look away. His eyes were unnerving to say the least. It was as if he had put her under some sort of spell that only he could break. Thankfully, he did so by looking at his partner and saying something.

Aiyana quickly looked at Mingan. Haka wanted the scroll which means that it was important. She had no reason to doubt the wolf spirit in any way. So, if it was important to the spirit it was important to her. So she had to steal it. But, now that they knew she was hiding here, she had lost her element of surprise. But Mingan hadn't. And her prize was still sitting in the unaware blue man's hand.

"What are you doing here?"

Aiyana started again and looked up at the source of the voice.

Itachi.

"Traveling," she replied as she slowly stood. Itachi was quite a bit taller than her. "Isn't that what most people on the road do?" Her hand rested on Mingan's head. All she had to do was give the signal and the growling wolf would jump on the man, take what he wanted, and run. Itachi's eyes flicked to the canine cautiously; he perceived the wolf as a threat and put up his defenses.

"Most travelers do not hide behind bushes," he replied suspiciously.

She couldn't help but laugh lightly at his comment. Grinning, she moved onto the road and studied the taller man closely. Though, she'd admit that Itachi gave off a more unsettling air, Kisame gave off a murderous one. And Haka wanted her to steal that scroll that was tightly clenched in his fist. She could take it, if only she could get close enough.

"So there was a little mouse hiding out in the woods?" Kisame said, grinning at her. His mouth was filled with bizarre pointed teeth.

Her eyes narrowed and she instantly decided that she did not like being referred to as a 'little mouse'. Suddenly, she gave him a sly smile. "Yes, hiding from the two monsters on the road. You two aren't ordinary travelers, are you?"

Itachi's head tilted ever so slightly at her comment. He was interested. But unfortunately, she wasn't interested in him. All she was interested in was that scroll.

"By the matching outfits, I would say the two of you are part of some organization."

Her reasoning was too vague for either of them to care.

_"The scroll that they have releases Kyuubi. Their organization is after demons, and since they are after Kyuubi in particular then it's probably Bijuus that they want."_

Aiyana relayed the information that Haka had told her to the two men. Immediately, the two of them stiffened and Kisame's hand slid over his shoulder to grasp a hilt. Perhaps she had said too much. Either way, she took a deep breath and advanced towards Kisame. "Your organization wants power. And the only people who want power in this world are those on top of it. Like ninjas." She grinned at him. "The two of you are ninjas. Probably missing nins, trying to use the Bijuus' power to overthrow a government."

Kisame burst out laughing as he removed the straw hat from his head. Across his forehead, just as she had predicted, was the headband that indicated his loyalty to his village. Unfortunately, the band was marred by a large scratch through the middle. Missing nin. "You're very perceptive, girl."

Her nose wrinkled. She disliked being called 'girl' as much as 'little mouse'. "Perceptive enough to see that you are nothing more than a fish out of water." His black beady eyes glared out at her. "Literally and figuratively. Did you know that most coups fail? Also, did you know you have gills? Like a fish? Do you breathe through them?"

Annoyed, Kisame grabbed her shirt collar and pulled her closer. It was all she needed. With a slight of hand, she had the scroll in hers and carefully hid it up her shirt all while looking Kisame straight in the eyes. "Girl, you need to learn when to keep your mouth shut."

"Keep it shut?" Aiyana commented dryly. "If you keep yours shut. Your breath smells like fish."

Kisame growled and a kunai appeared in the hand that had previously been holding the scroll. He was too preoccupied with her he hadn't even realized that something was missing. For a moment, a flash of fear went through her but then she heard the comforting bark. Mingan latched onto Gills' hand and refused to let go until Aiyana was safely back on the ground.

She grunted when she hit the ground and quickly scrambled back up and away. Her eyes landed on Itachi, some distance away, who was watching her with his blood red eyes. "Tell your partner Gills there to quit being so sensitive," she snapped at him.

Kisame was advancing at her, clearly insulted by his new nickname.

"Kisame," Itachi said in a warning tone. "Leave her. She is only trying to pick a fight."

Aiyana let go of the breath she had been holding.

"I'm in the mood for a fight," Kisame muttered, but he turned his back on her and rejoined his partner. "Shouldn't we kill her? She knows too much, Itachi-san."

For a moment, she was terrified Itachi would agree and tensed ready to run at any given movement, but instead he studied her. Studied her travel-worn clothing and fearful blue eyes, her desperate attempt to hide her fear and keep an air of haughty confidence about her, her messy black hair and the bandana she wore to keep it in check. She couldn't be more than fifteen, a child. And he had enough of killing children.

"No, she knows nothing. Those were simple observations anyone could have made from hearing what she heard. It would simply be a waste of time to kill her and Leader wants us back as soon as possible."

Thank God, she breathed out again without even realizing she had been holding her breath. Itachi had turned out to be her unlikely savior. And she was sure that a death by Kisame's hand would not have been a pleasant one. The two men turned to leave and she smiled warmly at Itachi, giving him a small wave. He seemed startled by the gesture and immediately looked away from her, falling in stride with his tall partner who constantly shot her dark looks.

The two of them walked away completely unaware they had been robbed.


	2. The Wolf Thief

Cat's Notes

Yeah! Type 1 error is gone and it's still Sunday, my promise is still good.

Hokay.

Chapter 2.

Imma gonna drop you hint. Pay attention to word play; it makes a difference in this story. Unless it's a mistake...then point it out to me in a review. I don't like mistakes; they're like the Devil or made by the devil. They are just evil overall. I should become a beta reader or something; I'd be good at it. As a note, Adrik is _not _an official member of Akatsuki. His position in the organization is explained in a few chapters. Just think of him as one of those assholes who think they're societies best but in reality they're one of those creepy ass taxi drivers you get in the dead of night in New York City. Yup. I think that sums him up pretty damn well.

Anywho,

ReadEnjoyReview :) (and thanks to those who already have)

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><p>Wolf Thief<p>

Chapter 2: The Wolf Thief

"You lost the scroll," the Leader hissed.

Both Itachi and Kisame looked him straight in the eyes and didn't say a word. It was their silent way of saying that it was true. They had lost it. Or, in better terms, it had been stolen from them. Kisame immediately pinpointed it on the girl that they had run into along the way. Itachi said nothing that supported or denied the accusation and the Leader seemed extremely doubtful that a little girl could steal from two S-class criminals.

"So, Kisame-san, what did the girl look like?" Pain asked. Though he still thought that it was unlikely that a girl had stolen the scroll from the two ninjas, it was less likely that the two of them had simply misplaced it.

"Short, black hair, blue eyes," Kisame said vaguely, trying to conjure up images of the girl. "She had a dog with her too."

Pain directed his attention to Itachi instead. "She was young, no more than fifteen. Long black hair that was kept in place with a blue bandana and blue eyes. Her clothing made her appear as if she traveled quite a bit and she carried a katana and a small backpack. There was a black wolf with her."

Pain nodded his thanks at Itachi before looking back at Kisame. "Go find Adrik." Kisame frowned, clearly thinking that the man had nothing to do with the conversation, but left anyways. "Do you think she could have stolen it?"

Itachi shifted slightly, thinking over his words before nodding. "Yes, she had a chance and she acted very unusual around us. If her motive was to steal the scroll, then her behavior would make some sense."

"And you didn't notice when it happened?" Pain pressed.

Itachi looked away. "No, Leader-sama. I simply thought that she was bored and trying to pick a fight."

"A little girl trying to pick a fight with Akatsuki members doesn't sound unusual to you?"

Thankfully, Itachi was spared answering when Kisame returned from his errand. Trailing behind him was another man, shorter than Kisame, yet taller than Itachi. His blue eyes seemed to sparkle when the dim lighting shone in them just right. There was a sly smile on his lips as he spoke.

"Leader-sama, you called for me?"

"Yes, describe Aiyana."

His laugh was dark, filling the entire room and pressing up against the corners as if it wanted to escape. "I always knew that girl would cause us trouble. She is my daughter after all." The shocked expression that Kisame gave him was enough to satisfy. "Perhaps a picture would be better."

Adrik left the room for a few minutes to retrieve the photo. While he was gone, there was an awkward silence before Kisame blurted out, "That bastard has a daughter? Who the hell would-"

The door reopened and Kisame, being the somewhat tactful member he was, shut his mouth. Immediately, Adrik presented the photo to Pain who in turn showed the picture to Kisame and Itachi. "Is this her?"

"Yeah," both replied simultaneously. Itachi replied in a monotone, as always, and Kisame seemed slightly down-trodden. To think that Adrik's daughter had stolen from them! He didn't even know the man had a daughter!

Pain nodded and looked expectantly at Adrik who grinned, eyes alight with curiosity. "What did she steal from you two?"

"It is none of your concern, Adrik," Pain answered sharply. "Tell them about the girl. It might be time that we bring her in."

"Aiyana Shijo is the daughter of Adrik Tsuzaki and Kaiya Shijo." Adrik grimaced. "As you can see, she has decided to keep her mother's surname. She was born fifteen years ago on August ninth. For ten years she lived in a small, no name village near Amekagure. It was no more than two hours walking to reach Amekagure. And for four years she walked twice a day to and from Amekagure to attend the ninja academy. I believe she was set to graduate two years early. Unfortunately, at age ten, she was expelled for inappropriate conduct and theft.

"Her mother had been hospitalized the months leading up to the expulsion for some unrecognizable disease. A month later, she died and Aiyana left the village. Two years later, she shows up again as a thief. In the underground, I believe she is known as The Wolf Thief since she is always accompanied by a coal black wolf and leaves behind something related to a wolf after each theft. Her main targets are jewels or ancient artifacts such as scrolls, vases, paintings. For the most part, she sells the items to personal buyers, but if she cannot find one then she sells to a shop."

"Why do you know so much about her?" Kisame asked, clearly suspicious at this point.

Adrik smiled at him. "Because she has the wolf demon, Okhmahaka, within her."

Another demon. Itachi frowned and switched his attention back to Pain. "Is there a reason for giving us this information?"

"Yes, your new mission is to capture her and the scroll and bring them both back here," Pain replied. "Surely you could accomplish that?"

"Of course we can," Kisame huffed.

**.:::'''':::.**

"So Haka," Aiyana said aloud, penetrating the silent forest around her. She was sure that the trees flinched at the sound of her voice, so she switched to talking with the spirit mentally. _"What do you want me to do with the scroll?"_

_"Return it,"_ the wolf replied smugly.

Aiyana's reaction was immediate_. "Return it!"_ she screeched. _"I'll be damned if I do that! I'm a thief! Dammit, not some female version of St. Anthony*!" _To think, a thief like her returning a stolen item! It was just too absurd! It went against all codes of thieves. One simply just does not return things; it was like she would be breaking some unspoken taboo.

_"Consider it your good deed of the month,"_ Haka replied calmly.

Aiyana huffed and looked at the small rolled up piece of paper. _"Why is it so important anyways?"_

_"Kyuubi cannot be released,"_ the spirit replied. An image of a large and rather destructive fox demon flashed in her mind. One of his flaming tails uprooted hundreds of trees with a single swipe. He himself towered above the tree line. Kyuubi truly was a demon.

Aiyana scoffed, clearly put off by the realization that Haka was right. _"Fine, you win. Where does it go?"_

_"Konohagakure,"_ Haka answered in a satisfied voice.

"Well, Mingan, looks like we're off to Konoha," Aiyana said lightly, smiling down at the wolf beside her.

Konoha turned out to be a two day walk from where she was. During those two days, she only walked on the road but paranoia kept her from camping on the road. It surprised her when the two ninja she stole the scroll from didn't return, but she thought it best not to wonder about it. If they didn't want it back, then that was perfectly fine with her.

Her eyes scanned the streets of Konoha; it had to be one of the largest and busiest villages she's been to. But, even though it was so large, most people seemed to know each other. Everyone seemed to have a greeting for another person they walked by. It nearly made her feel uncomfortable, but she pushed it back to the corner of her mind.

Mingan's nose twitched and he pawed at Aiyana's heels and whined. "What is it, Mingan?" she asked, looking down at her companion. The wolf raised his head and pointed his nose towards a ramen shop. Mingan's favorite treat was ramen, and they often got it together after a theft. She laughed lightly and nodded. "That's a great idea."

There was a group passing by them that caught her interest. It was a rowdy group of four; three of them looked a few years younger than her while the other one appeared to be their instructor. The group of teens were arguing over something which their instructor completely ignored. Instead, his nose and attention was engrossed in a book.

It was a simple legerdemain; a pickpocket trick she had been doing since she was seven. She didn't even touch him. Her face revealed nothing to passersby as she snatched his wallet out of his back pocket. He must have sensed something because he looked over his shoulder, but saw nothing unusual. Aiyana smiled to herself as she walked up to the counter and opened the wallet.

"Oh wow…" she breathed; it was much more than she expected. It was enough to keep her living comfortably in Konoha for at least two weeks. Her eyes looked down at the I.D. that pictured a ninja with silver hair and a single dark eye. His other was covered by his headband indicating he was a ninja from Konoha. Kakashi Hatake, 26 years old, jounin. "We hit the jackpot with this guy, Mingan."

"Three bowls of traditional ramen," she ordered taking a seat at the counter. Mingan settled down behind the chair, protecting her bag. When the bowls arrived, she placed two on the floor for Mingan and devoured the last one. Satisfied, she placed the money on the bar to pay, turned to leave, and froze.

Kakashi Hatake was entering the ramen shop, followed by his three little ninja trainees. Of course, this was just her luck. But she knew how to get out of situations like this. It wasn't that bad of a situation yet.

"Sensei, I can't believe you lost your wallet," the pink haired girl whined as she followed her sensei.

"I thought you were brighter than that," a raven haired boy commented with a small sigh.

"Yea, I agree with Sasuke," a blonde kid said with a small nod.

"That's a first," Kakashi replied appearing slightly annoyed.

Aiyana slide off the chair she was sitting on and motioned for Mingan to get up. The blonde kid within the group ran up to her, his eyes wide with excitement. "Is that a real wolf?" he asked fervently.

"No, I performed a jutsu on my pet Chihuahua so he'd look like a wolf," Aiyana answered sarcastically rolling her eyes with annoyance. Since when did people get so stupid?

The kid eyed her suspiciously and after several minutes asked, "Are you sure it's not a wolf?"

"Naruto! Quit asking stupid questions!" The pink haired girl appeared behind the blonde one, Naruto apparently, and hit him on top of his head. Aiyana flinched at the hit and stared at the sadistic girl; she would hate to get on her bad side.

"That hurt, Sakura!" Naruto whined rubbing the spot he was hit. Aiyana stared at the two of them, slightly confused but more than ready to leave. The other two appeared even more annoyed than she thought possible. Was this an everyday occurrence?

After watching the two argue for another few minutes, Aiyana decided it was best to take her leave. "Um, yeah, you don't mind if I leave, do you?" she said moving to walk around the group. All attention was turned to her. "I've got to go find a place to stay for the night." She walked around the group and stopped in front of Kakashi. "I believe this belongs to you," she said sweetly, handing him the wallet. "Thanks for dinner. Come on, Mingan."

Kakashi watched the girl leave with a single curious eye. She was a visitor, but didn't appear to be a ninja. He rarely saw wandering young minors that were not ninja. Sighing, he looked down at the wallet in his hands and opened it up. His single visible eye went wide. All of the money he had was gone, save for five dollars and a folded napkin.

He pulled out the folded napkin and unwrapped it.

_Thanks for paying for our hotel room too! Hope you don't mind. You're a really kind person._

_Love, _

_A & M_

_P.S. you should really take better care of your things. Someone might just snatch it out of your pocket._

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><p>*St. Anthony is the patron saint of lost articles in Catholicism. If you pray to him, he helps you locate whatever you've lost. Very helpful when you're a clutz like me who loses <em>everything.<em>


	3. Konoha

Cat's Notes

ReadEnjoy&Review.

Till next week.

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><p>Wolf Thief<p>

Chapter 3: Konoha

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><p>Aiyana walked down the streets looking from left to right. For seven in the morning, the village was awfully busy. Mothers were doing groceries and grumpy kids were heading off to their school, well, at least she assumed they had a school here; it was large enough to need a school. Mingan trotted at her heels playfully occasionally darting after something he imagined up and attracting attention from quite a few people on the street. She herself attracted a few eyes, many from young men. She never really considered herself that nice looking since she was constantly worn down, her hair was always shaggy since she rarely brushed it, and even her clothes were ragged. Yet she took a shower earlier, so she must have looked a little better. She ignored the guys that simply looked, but for those that decided to make a perverted signal or notion, she showed them a pretty little bird.<p>

Sighing, she looked down at the wolf that walked alongside her. Occasionally, his bulky form would brush up against her leg. "Well, Mingan, what should we do first?"

_"Return the scroll?"_ Haka suggested in a mockingly impatient voice.

"Let me enjoy the village before I get myself in trouble with that damn scroll," Aiyana answered irritable. The scroll that she had left hidden back in the hotel room simply had trouble written all over it. In fact, if she opened it up and the only word inside it was trouble then, she wouldn't be surprised in the slightest. The village would probably arrest her if they found out she had it on her.

The village, she had noticed, had an outstanding number of ninja hanging about. If she wanted out without being discovered, then she was going to keep her head low. Which, by the sounds of Haka's snickers, would be an impossibly hard task for her. She'd have to be in tip-top shape to stay out of reach of the ninja.

"We haven't trained in a while, Mingan," Aiyana commented thoughtfully. Her aim with her kunai was probably off quite a bit. "How about we scout out the training fields?"

As it turned out, scouting the village for the training fields turned out to be far more difficult than she thought it could be. After an hour of sightseeing (and not seeing what she wanted to) Aiyana admitted defeated and decided it would be best to simply ask a ninja for directions.

She walked up to someone at one of the stands and tapped them on the shoulder. "Excuse me," she began only to pause in mid-sentence. It was that girl Sakura. Why didn't she suspect it? Her bubble gum pink hair could be spotted miles away, and yet she had been absolutely oblivious to it. Well, maybe Sakura wouldn't recognize her.

"You're that girl that stole Kakashi-sensei's wallet!" Sakura cried out in surprise. And, there goes that fat chance.

"I am?" Aiyana responded with just as much surprise. It threw Sakura off and the girl spent a silent second studying her more closely before smiling.

"You should have seen Kakashi-sensei's face, he was pretty pissed off," Sakura said suppressing laughter at the memory. "Of course, he was too lazy to go after you."

"Really?" Aiyana replied curiously. With the amount she had taken from him, it surprised her that he simply just did not want to go after her. Just how rich was this guy? Perhaps she should have held onto that five she had left for him too.

"So, what's your name anyways?" Sakura inquired.

"Aiyana," she replied with a small smile. "You're Sakura, right? It suits you."

Sakura blushed lightly at the comment, the color in her cheeks matching the color of her hair. "Um, thanks, what are you planning on doing?"

"I was planning on going to go train, but I don't know where the training field is," Aiyana answered, scratching the back of her head and smiling shyly. Man, did she feel stupid. But Sakura had a headband so she probably knew where the field was.

"You're a ninja!"

"No, not really…"

"I know exactly where the training field is! Come on!" Sakura exclaimed pretending she didn't hear anything. Or perhaps she didn't hear anything at all.

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><p>"Sakura's late!" Naruto whined sitting on the harsh planks of the wooden bridge with his sulking face on. He tapped his fingers on the wood of the bridge irritating Sasuke more than humanly possible. And, as usual, he didn't even notice that Sasuke was annoyed at all.<p>

"No, you're just early," Sasuke said, glaring at Naruto's fingers. He gritted his teeth wishing that some supernatural force would just end the torment before the temptation to slit Naruto's throat put him into action.

"Why are you so early, anyways?" Naruto asked eyeing Sasuke suspiciously. Of course, he didn't even need to ask. Sasuke was always early probably doing personal training before they came. Damn bastard.

"She's here," Sasuke announced ignoring the last comment.

Sakura was running up to them and dragging someone along with her. He recognized the girl as the girl they had met at the ramen stall, but decided to ignore it, yet for one moment he caught her gaze. Her blue eyes sparkled as if she saw something interesting in him and he frowned. There was something unusual about her. And about the sudden end to that tormenting, constant drumming. The young Uchiha looked over at Naruto and saw that he was up on his feet shouting at Sakura.

"Who's this?" Naruto asked spotting the girl. His eyes had been on Sakura so much that he didn't even notice she had brought along someone else.

"Aren't you a rude idiot?" Aiyana said with mild amusement. Both Sakura and Sasuke had recognized her, yet Naruto had the nerve to simply forget who she was. It dealt a blow to her ego, so she had to respond in some insulting way. The insult worked.

"Idiot? I'm going to be the next Hokage!" Naruto shouted, punching the air eagerly.

"You sure? You seem like an overactive idiot to me," Aiyana mumbled softly. A smile told them that she was simply pretending to talk to herself. Sakura nodded in agreement and Sasuke turned his head away so no one could notice his smirk.

Naruto was about to make a come back but spotted Mingan as he trotted up and sat next to Aiyana. "You're that girl from the ramen stale," he realized staring at the wolf. Sasuke rolled his eyes; he couldn't believe he was just noticing that.

"Aiyana Shijo at your service," Aiyana introduced, grinning.

"Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto replied shaking her hand. All hatred he held for the arrogant thief was forgotten in a second.

"I remember." Her blue eyes settled on Sasuke. She couldn't help but scan him, comparing him to the man on the road. They looked oddly similar; it was kind of creeping her out how similar the two looked. Sasuke seemed puzzled by her scrutinizing eye, so she quickly smiled. "I also remember that you're Sasuke."

"Sasuke Uchiha," Sasuke elaborated looking directly into her eyes. Aiyana was studying him, clearly puzzled by something and he wasn't sure what. A flicker of recognition resided in her eyes, yet the two of them never met before the Ramen Stall incident.

"And I'm Kakashi Hatake," a voice suddenly announced behind her. "I'm not sure if you remember me, but I remember you, pickpocket."

Aiyana immediately whirled around to face the silver-haired man. Of course, she had to be nearby when he arrived. From the thin tone of his voice, she could tell that he did not appreciate his forced "Good Samaritan" act of providing her with food and a bed. Kakashi wasn't even looking at her. Instead, his eyes were on the same thing they were on when she first saw him: an orange bound, perverted looking book.

She placed a hand on her hip and glared at him. With a mocking tone, she said, "I'm a thief! Not a lowly pickpocket!"

"In that case, I should turn you into ANBU."

"Mingan wouldn't like that," Aiyana retorted, a sadistic smirk on her lips.

Kakashi shot the wolf growling beside her a dark look. Animals could be twice as vicious defending someone than a ninja at times. "Of course he wouldn't," he said. The signs of a small smile showed in the crinkling of his mask. But with the annoyed shine in his eye, Aiyana was willing to bet it wasn't a smile of kindness. "But he'll have to deal with it."

"Kakashi-sensei, you aren't really going to turn her in are you?" Sakura asked in surprise, glancing between Aiyana and her sensei. The air about the two seemed tense and Sakura was worried that her sensei may go through with the threat.

"Sakura, you heard her admit it, she's a thief," Kakashi answered.

"So? I could tell you Naruto was an assassin and you wouldn't arrest him!" Sakura answered in defense. Why the bubble gum girl felt the need to defend her was beyond Aiyana. But, whatever her reasoning, Aiyana sat back and let the ninja-in-training do her arguing for her. Except when it came to denouncing her occupation. She was just as proud to be a thief as Naruto was to be a ninja. "Besides, you don't have any proof she's a thief."

"I stole his wallet yesterday," Aiyana commented dryly. Both Kakashi and Sakura seemed startled by her blunt confession. She shrugged. "I just needed money to survive in the village. I'm not planning on doing anything."

"Yet," Kakashi added to the end of her sentence.

Aiyana opened her mouth to defend herself, but Naruto was eager to jump into the conversation. "What kind of thief are you?" His finger poked her shoulder and he scuttled next to her. With the age difference also came a height difference. She was several inches taller than him and he obviously was not pleased.

"One of the best," Aiyana replied with a sly smile.

"Prove it!" Naruto immediately demanded.

Aiyana raised a brow and chuckle. Naruto was nothing more than a hyper kid. "I stole from your sensei without him noticing, didn't I?"

Dumbfounded and unable to think of a reasonable response, Naruto shut up. It was true that she had stolen from Kakashi-sensei and he was a jounin level ninja. For her to steal from a jounin, she had to be quite skilled. "How old are you?" he suddenly asked.

Aiyana flushed. "I'm fifteen and enough with the twenty questions, blondie!"

"Who are you calling blondie?" Naruto snapped back.

"Well, I dunno know. Who else has blond hair around here?"

"Enough," Kakashi interrupted. "Aiyana-chan, how about we make a deal?"

She perked up. Deals were good. And she was good at making deals. It came with the thieving ability. How else was she supposed to make money if she didn't sell her stolen goods? A wolfish grin spread wide across her lips. "Alright, I like deals."

"Pay back all of the money you stole from me and I won't send ANBU after you." Kakashi stuck out his gloved hand as if he expected her to whip out the cash and slap it into his palm. Instead, she slapped him with her laughter.

"Return the money? You must be crazy!" Kakashi frowned and returned his hand to his side. "Besides, you don't want to give me over to the ANBU."

"Why's that?" Kakashi asked with a curious note in his voice.

"Because I have something your Hokage would be very interested in," Aiyana responded with a smile and a slight cock of her head.

Kakashi immediately reverted back to his suspicious mode. His eye narrowed on her and studied her far more closely than before. She squirmed as if she had been placed under a magnifying glass. Finally, he leaned back. "What is it?"

"It's something for the Hokage," Aiyana answered vaguely, clearly not willing to reveal her hand. Kakashi couldn't blame her. She was a strange girl in a strange village. Every hand she had put her at an advantage. "So if one of you would be so kind as to show me where she is…"

The suggestion hung in the air for an awkward moment.

"I'll take you."

The voice came from the Itachi-look-alike. It was the first time he had spoken (other than his name) and it startled her because, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that even their voices sounded alike. Maybe Sasuke was an Itachi clone or an Itachi in disguise. If that was the case, then she didn't want to be alone with him. He may kill her for stealing the scroll.

Sasuke had already walked away and turned back to yell at her, "are you coming or not?"

With a parting glance at Naruto and Sakura, Aiyana followed the Uchiha. Well, not before she stuck her tongue out at the jounin. Mingan in turn, snarled, snorted in his odd wolf way, and trailed behind his charge.


	4. Immunity

Cat's Notes

Hola, so sorry about the delayed update, but as we all know this weekend was Easter weekend and it also turns out to be exam week for my university. I just finished up my last official exam. I have one more, but its not official 'cause it's online. GOOGLE! Oh, the perks of online exams. Anywho, this chapter is the longest (or second longest) and fairly important. Just as warning, in the next few chapters she faces extreme opposition from Kakashi. You'll understand what I mean by the end of this chapter.

Uh...k, that's it.

ReadEnjoyReview.

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><p>.Wolf Thief.<p>

Chapter 4: Immunity

"Where are we going?" Aiyana asked as she trailed behind Sasuke. After stopping by her hotel room so she could pick her something up, Sasuke had lead her towards the shadier part of the village. An area filled more with gambling huts and bars than anything else.

Then she heard an uproar of laughter from a nearby gambling hut. Sasuke immediately veered off in the direction of the noise. "Tsunade-sama isn't one to stay put in an office; I bet you anything she's in there." He nodded his head towards the crowd.

Aiyana grinned. "How much you got?" He shot her an annoyed look. "Just joking, just joking!" She raised her hands up in defense as if trying to keep him away. His looks could kill if they wanted too. For a young kid, he was way too serious and seriously needed to loosen up.

"Come on," Sasuke ordered pushing through the crowd. Her smile fading, she followed in the Uchiha's wake. The front of the crowd began laughing again and the laughter quickly waved through to the back of the crowd.

"You lost again! Why don't you just give up all ready?" Aiyana heard one man say.

"There's no way I'm giving up!" a young lady with blonde hair pulled into pigtails snapped. The thief realized that pigtail-lady was Sasuke's objective. The young woman was the Hokage. But she couldn't be much older than 25!

"Tsunade-sama, give up all ready. Someone needs to talk to you," Sasuke interrupted.

"Oh, Sasuke, I didn't see you there," the women said looking up at the Uchiha with a fond smile. Her eyes were a large, warming brown and, in the middle of her forehead, was a strange diamond symbol. The Hokage appeared to be a caring woman, but apparently cared more for her money-dispensing machines. Who would have thought that the Hokage would have a gambling problem?

"Can it wait?" Tsunade asked putting in some more money for another round on the machine.

"No, I have something of importance to speak of," Aiyana announced stepping forward. Sasuke was caught off guard by her sudden seriousness. He thought she was more like Naruto than anyone else, and Naruto was rarely serious unless he was in the middle of a massive fight. Even then, he might not be that serious.

Tsunade caught the same serious note in Aiyana's voice that Sasuke did. She examined the young thief carefully before standing to her full height. "Who are you?" she asked forcible. "You aren't from around here."

"Do you have a more private spot?" Aiyana suggested with a small smile. Tsunade nodded and walked through the crowd beckoning for Sasuke and Aiyana to follow. Aiyana gave Sasuke a quick glance and he nodded. They were led back to the Hokage's office, the place Aiyana originally had thought they would be meeting.

Tsunade took a seat at her desk, folded her hands together, and regarded the thief carefully. The girl was young and had a mischievous air. It wasn't the same feeling she got from Naruto, who only pulled harmless pranks, but a feeling that made her think this girl could pull a off a very dangerous game of deception. "What is it you wish to talk about?"

"You obviously care for the village. You recognized Sasuke out of who knows how many people, and recognized the fact that I'm not a villager," Aiyana said without warning. She could feel the cold regard of the Hokage's eyes. What a skeptical woman the Hokage was. She looked upon Aiyana as if she was an alien sent to destroy the planet. It'd be fun to pull a couple of her strings. "So what if I tell you I'm interested in joining your village?" Not a startled enough reaction in her opinion, so she quickly added, "as a ninja?"

"What's your name?" Tsunade asked.

"Aiyana Shijo."

"Aiyana-chan, you must understand that we don't let just anyone become a ninja. You must be trained for it, the village must trust you, and you must be dedicated to the village." Tsunade regarded the travel worn girl in front of her. "From what I can see, you have none of those traits."

To her surprise, Aiyana started laughing. "Everyone in this village is so damn serious! I'm sorry, Hokage-sama, I was just kidding. I can't dedicate my life to one place."

Surprised, the Hokage seemed at a loss for words for a moment. "Then what do you want?"

"Immunity," Aiyana answered, her eyes and tone acquiring seriousness they hadn't had before. "I want immunity in this village. I want to be safe and protected whenever I'm within the walls of this village, whether it be from anyone on the outside or anyone on the inside."

Tsunade cocked her head, curious by the girl's request. "Why would you need something like that?"

Aiyana grinned. "The Wolf Thief needs it. She needs somewhere that she knows she'll be safe, doesn't she? So in exchange for giving me immunity, I can give you something that I picked up on the side of the road. Something that I'm sure you'll appreciate having back."

The Hokage's mind was at work. A girl who was requesting complete immunity in her village from insiders and outsiders. That meant that if Sand came knocking at her door asking for the girl, she couldn't be handed over. It could prove problematic. And the girl claimed to an infamous thief. Even more reason not to trust her. Yet she had something that she apparently thought gave her leverage. So, Tsunade pursed her lips and waited.

The silence clearly frustrated Aiyana. "Do you want it or not?"

"I will not make a deal until I know what it is you have," Tsunade replied.

The smile that tugged on Aiyana's lips was one of amusement. "Smart. It's a scroll. One that has been stolen recently. I've been told it has the power to release Kyuubi. Am I right?"

"Impossible! How did you get it?"

"Did you not hear me say it? I'm the Wolf Thief. I stole it!"

Tsunade sighed and ran her hand across her face. Yes, this definitely put her in a predicament. "How about this Aiyana-chan? I'll take you up on the first offer."

"My first offer?" Aiyana asked in confusion.

"I can make you a ninja of the village. It also insures you your immunity." There was hesitation in the girl's eyes. Maybe she hadn't lied when she said that she couldn't dedicate. "If you don't think you can stay in the village as a ninja, then I'll release you. But you can keep your protection. Whenever you're in the village, we'll protect you."

The thief ran a hand through her hair. "You've got a deal, Hokage-sama. I'll try this whole ninja thing and if it doesn't work out, then I'll use this village as a safe zone. Besides I've always wanted to be a ninja. It'll be interesting. Though the transition from thief to ninja might not be the easy."

"Excellent!" Tsunade smiled. "For now, I'll put you with Kakashi!"

Aiyana groaned, but didn't say anything against it. At least she knew the man was lazy. It'd be easy to steal from him continuously. Then, she grimaced, realizing that her thoughts of stealing needed to stop. Her eyes glanced back at Sasuke, who was now her teammate, and saw that he was regarding her suspiciously. She'd figure out what it was once they got outside. Aiyana left the scroll with Tsunade before grabbing Sasuke and leaving.

"How'd you get that scroll?" Sasuke demanded the moment they were on the street. Wow, she could definitely say he was one to get to the point.

Aiyana cocked a brow. "Didn't you hear me say it? I stole it, teammate."

Sasuke didn't appreciate her playful use of the word teammate. He just continued to scowl. Perhaps she should warn him that that expression could become a permanent fixture on his face. "How did you get it from those two men?"

"Two men? How did you know it was two men?"

"Two men stole it from the village," Sasuke growled back.

Aiyana sighed, realized it was a lost cause and decided to end it. "I stole it. The big blue guy had it in his hand. It was a simple matter of getting close enough to take it. Turns out Gills is pretty easy to piss off. Demon-Eyes isn't though. Really reminds me of a statue." _Like you, Sasuke._

"His eyes, were they red?"

Aiyana turned to him. "Yeah, how did you know?"

"Just a feeling," Sasuke seethed through closed teeth.

No, it was more than a feeling. But she wasn't in the mood to pester him. Now that the scroll was off her hands, she'd rather not think about those two men at all. It would be better to take his mind off of it entirely. That's when she spotted the perfect distraction, sitting quietly to her left. A nice, unsuspecting jewelry store. "Mingan, we haven't had some real fun in a while, have we?" The wolf's tail immediately began to wag. "And with our new status in the village, they can't really persecute us yet. They'd definitely let the first one slide."

"Aiyana-chan, what are you talking about?" Sasuke asked, eyeing her curiously.

"Just call me Aiyana, Sasuke-kun. We're teammates. Now come on." He didn't get a chance to object before she dragged him into the store.

Aiyana leaned on the plastic glass that surrounded the jewelry scrutinizing each piece carefully while an uninterested Sasuke leaned against the door. Most of the jewelry struck her as too elegant especially for her. She was simply looking for something for herself, and then she found it

She leaned closer examining one certain necklace. It had a basic silver chain holding onto its charm at the end. The wolf pendent was carved out of a beautiful scarlet color stone and with such detail that she could even make out the fur on it. Its scarlet head was tilted back as if it was howling towards the moon.

"I love this one, Sasuke-kun," she announced glancing over her shoulder at him, a smile decorating her lips.

"Then buy it," Sasuke replied not even bothering to come and look at the choice she had made. Aiyana huffed and went back to examining it, estimating the price to be around two hundred or so dollars, mainly because the work was so nice and the chain was sterling silver. At the sound of her voice, the manager came out of the back room. He had black hair, but was mostly bald, and dark gray eyes that seem to catch every little detail. Keys dangled at his waist, clinging together in an almost musical composition with each step he took.

"Little lady, you wouldn't be able to afford anything here," he grunted at the sight of her at his counter.

"Little lady?" Aiyana repeated sourly under her breath. Already she disliked the cocky bastard. But she only smiled at him and pointed to the wolf necklace. "How much is this one?"

"That one is six hundred," the man answered with a grin. Aiyana stared at him and then the necklace. He was insane, that was way above the reasonable price. By the look of that arrogant grin plastered on his face, he knew it.

Her eyes narrowed on him and she grinned at him. "You know it isn't worth more than two hundred, sir, so why don't you sell it for that price?" she asked coolly staring him down. Her haughty attitude caused the normally controlled man to become angry.

The owner slammed his hand down on the counter and snapped at her, "It's my store, I name the prices! Now either buy something or get out!"

Mingan, who had managed to remain by her side unnoticed, growled and barked at him. He jumped up on his hind legs, placing his fore paws on the counter. The owner stared at him with wide fearful eyes and took an immediate step back. It gave Aiyana more than enough time to jump the counter, grab the keys off the terrified man, and unlock the cabinet.

The man was in such a shock that he couldn't even utter one word as she picked up the necklace. Sasuke stood at the door, his mouth agape as she performed a theft in broad daylight. Aiyana smiled at him and then at the man. She placed the keys back on top of the counter, grabbed Sasuke while shouting at Mingan, and left the shop in a rush.

"What do you think, Uchiha-san?" Aiyana asked holding the necklace out in front of him once they were out of the store.

"That you should give it back," Sasuke replied. Yet it was quite interesting. It didn't prove that she was the amazing thief she claimed to be, but it did confirm she was a thief.

"Oh, what do you know anyways? Sides, that son of a bitch deserved it," Aiyana pouted. She started putting the necklace on just as a shout was heard from the shop. Once again, a smile was on her lips. "So, Sasuke-kun, you can either run with me or pretend that you had nothing to do with me."

Surprised by her suggestion, Sasuke glanced over his shoulder to see the owner shouting and pointing at them through the crowd. Run, she suggested. Run where? His mind was screaming at him. He was already guilty by association and Aiyana looked like she was about ready to leave without him. Finally, he looked up at her and nodded.

Aiyana grinned and took off through the crowd, weaving in between people while Sasuke did his best to keep an eye on her. Eventually he decided it'd be easier to spy the coal black wolf through the crowd of colors. The faces of the people around them changed from surprised, to annoyed, to anger, and it didn't take long for other blurs to appear. She had managed to get the police after them.

"Hurry up, Sasuke-kun!" Aiyana yelled laughing all the while. Sasuke gritted his teeth, but managed to keep up with her. Until she disappeared around a corner. He rounded the corner, felt someone grab his wrist and was dragged into a hidden spot between a door and a wall.

"How are you planning to get us out of this mess?" Sasuke demanded in a low hiss.

"Your sensei," she replied with a grin in her voice.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke repeated in disbelief.

She didn't reply and instead took a step out of their hiding place. There was no one in sight, so she motioned for Sasuke to come out as well. The wolf brushed past his legs and trotted out before him. They walked out onto the street and began a calm walk towards the training field.

Well, the calm walk lasted about five minutes.

"That's them!" a voice shouted and they were running again.

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><p>Naruto sighed and hit the back of his head against a tree. They were taking so long. What could be holding them up? He wanted to start his training and Tsunade-sama wasn't that hard to find. "Ow!" he yelled jumping up after the pain registered in his mind, "that hurt!"<p>

"No way, dumbass," Sakura said sighing. Only Naruto can forget there is a tree behind him-only him. She rubbed her temples and looked over at Kakashi "When do you think Sasuke-kun will be back?"

Kakashi said nothing for a few minutes, his nose remaining buried in his book. After a few moments, Sakura became annoyed and opened her mouth to say something, but by some miracle, he spoke. "Right…about…now," he said just as they came running towards the group.

Aiyana placed her hands on her knees trying to breathe through her laughter. Mingan came up next to her looking like he was actually grinning in triumph, that is, if wolves could grin. Sasuke collapsed on the ground next to her, breathing heavily, but wore a smile. The others, except Kakashi, looked at them with little question marks floating around their heads waiting for one of the two to explain which neither did for a good time.

"Never again will I offer to go with you," Sasuke announced, glaring sharply at the raven haired girl. In fact, he wasn't even sure if their pursers were still following. The way she weaved through that crowd made him think it was impossible to follow her.

Aiyana grinned at his comment. "It's your fault for coming in the first place!" She laughed lightly and stood up to her full height, still a bit short of breath but not as bad as Sasuke.

"What happened?" Naruto and Sakura asked at the same time. Eagerness danced in their eyes as the waited to hear the story. Sakura had her fingers intertwined and brought up to her collar bone while Naruto merely bounced on his heels.

Sasuke pointed at Aiyana. "Half an hour in Konoha and she manages to get half the police force after us!" Sasuke exclaimed still panting for breath.

"Half the police force? It was only a few men," Aiyana corrected smiling. He glared at her again. She was gloating and Naruto and Sakura were absolutely transfixed.

"What did you steal?" Sakura asked looking around afraid that men would suddenly surrounded them. She wasn't sure what Aiyana meant by a few men, but Sasuke seemed a bit weary. Her eyes strayed to Kakashi who still appeared to be transfixed on his book.

"Whoever said I stole anything?" Aiyana asked in a spurious sour voice. "Just because I'm a thief doesn't mean I just stole something and got in -"

"She stole the necklace she's wearing," Sasuke answered for her. Aiyana glanced over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out at him for ruining her suspense. He gave her an ice cold glare in return causing her to change her expression into an innocent one.

"Stole?" Aiyana replied, trying once again to build up that suspense that Sasuke had torn down. "I merely took it from a man who doesn't deserve it."

Sakura was busy studying the scarlet stone around her neck. A wolf, she couldn't expect less, but the detail was beautiful. She could see why Aiyana would want it. "It's cute," she finally said.

"Somebody who appreciates artwork!" Aiyana exclaimed happily giving Sakura a quick random hug. She smiled at Sakura who looked utterly confused then backed away.

It was then that a ninja decided to appear amongst their midst, surprising everyone except Kakashi. "The Hokage wishes to see you, Kakashi-san," he announced in a monotone voice. His eyes slid over to Aiyana who had taken to glaring at him. "The pursuit for you has been cancelled."

Aiyana smiled warmly in reply. With his message delivered, he disappeared as quickly as he came. Kakashi sighed and disappeared without saying a word to his students.

"Hey! You're supposed to train us!" Naruto yelled as if their missing sensei could still hear them. The corner of Naruto's mouth twitched in annoyance and let out a defeated sigh.

"So, what now?" Sakura asked, looking at her other three companions.

"We can go out for ramen, Sakura-chan," Naruto suggested with a sly smile.

"No," Sakura rejected, irritation coating her tone.

Rejected for the umpteenth time, Naruto collapsed on the ground and covered his face. "We didn't get any training done," he pouted.

"That's your fault," Sasuke replied following the path back towards the village while earning an evil look from Naruto. "You should have trained while we were gone."

"Why you…" Naruto growled curling his hand into a fist. Now, Sasuke needed some sensed punched into him. Well, he always did, but now was just one of those times when he wished he could drive his fist into Sasuke's gut. Sakura glanced at Naruto then at the leaving Sasuke and sighed.

"Calm down, Naruto-kun," She ordered though the blonde's fist remained shaking in anger. "Sasuke-kun, wait up!" She called out after seeing that Naruto was just going to stand there. The Uchiha didn't glance back, but his pace seemed to slow down a bit so she started to run after him.

"Hey, Naruto," Aiyana said catching his attention before he left. "If you want to drop by my place tomorrow morning, I'll train with you." She handed him a slip of paper with the name of the hotel she was staying in. She had actually torn it off one of those notebooks that were left on the dresser in every hotel so she could remember what hotel she was staying at. Since she had no other paper and she honestly wanted to spend more time with the blond she might as well give it to Naruto.

Naruto glanced down at the paper and then smiled up at her. "You know how to fight, Aiyana-chan?"

She couldn't help but feel insulted by the question. "Of course, I can. I'm on your team now, aren't I?"

"You're what?" Naruto shouted in surprise.

"The Hokage put me on your team," Aiyana explained absentmindedly. The shock was quick to show on Naruto's face and, with only half the story, it was understandable. "Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow, Naruto-kun!"

She left him alone with his dumbfounded expression and thoughts.


	5. The Second Encounter

Cat's Notes.

So, I've just realized that everything comes in three's in this story and I didn't even do it intentionally. Wow, weird. I've never even liked the number three. Hm. Okay. Seems like things are finally heating up for poor Aiyana-chan. And Haka is being a useless bitch as always. Haha, a bitch, get it? Cause she's a wolf? Haha, okay. That was lame and I sincerely apology. Nor is she useless. She's only useless in the most important times. And I've always felt sorry for her; I mean stuck inside someone else's body! How bad could that get? You're just watching life go by and doing nothing. Okay, not doing nothing. Haka's had her little escapadees as seen in this chapter and mentioned in later ones.

Haha, what a bitch.

ReadEnjoyReview!

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><p>Wolf Thief<p>

Chapter 5: The Second Encounter

Aiyana went back to the hotel room, spending a moderate amount of time there before getting bored once again. One glance at the clock told her it'd be dark in two hours at the least. She had two hours to start getting to know the village of Konoha. Two hours to start getting to know her new home. For some reason, as she left the hotel room, calling Konoha home didn't settle well. She had never referred to any place as home after her mother's death. Of course, she never stayed more than a week at a time in most places. But this time would be different. Maybe it was the change she needed.

The two hours went by without her even noticing. For two hours, she more or less wandered aimlessly. She didn't even notice it was dark until the streetlights flickered on. When they did, the obnoxious flickering caused her to blink and stop, evaluating where she stood. It was part of the village that she never visited before.

"Hey, Mingan, do you know where we are?" Aiyana asked softly to the wolf beside her. The wolf lifted his nose up in the air and sniffed. After a few more sniffs, he looked up at her with large eyes and whined. No, he was as clueless as her.

In her mind, she heard a snicker. Haka, was laughing at her ability to get lost. If she lacked a map or blue print and it was her first time going around a place, she'd nearly always get lost. It was worse in villages the size of Konoha.

"Do you think you can lead us back?" Aiyana looked down at the wolf expectantly. Mingan was typically her savior when it came to situations like this. The wolf's nose managed to follow her original scent back, but this time he whined and pawed the ground. There were just too many scents and it overwhelmed him.

_"So you're lost,"_ Haka gathered a wolfish smirk on her expression. _"Guess you ought to ask someone for directions."_

_"Shut up,"_ Aiyana ordered looking around. She could dismiss the spirit, but she couldn't dismiss the truth in Haka's words. Someone needed to give her directions back to the hotel. Haka laughed at her frustration at having to admit the wolf spirit had a point.

Down the road was an open, still busy tavern. There had to be someone there that could help out. Yet, misfortune was smiling on her. As she peered into the shop, she realized that most of the customers were as foreign as she was. Mostly likely, they were travelers just passing through and grabbing a drink. Either way, a waitress or one of the bartenders had to be native.

Her eyes were drawn to an unusual pair at a table before she could even approach a waitress. Two men, their faces covered by straw hats, black cloaks decorated with red cloaks set on their shoulders. She groaned.

"You've got to be kidding me." Aiyana stopped a waitress that was just walking by her. "Excuse me, but those two men at the table, who are they?"

"Customers, as far as I know," the waitress replied. "They are a bit unusual though. One of them has got blue skin and the other refuses to get any alcohol. You think he'd pick somewhere other than a tavern to sit then." She wrinkled her small nose, obviously displeased by the lack of income. "Anyways, is there anything you want?"

"Oh, I just had something. Thanks though."

The waitress nodded and left to serve the other tables unaware that she had left Aiyana's heart pounding. She had been right. Blue skin, the same absurd get-up, there was no way she could mistake it. Life really hated her. Hated her enough to make her stumble into the same bar as two missing nin who probably wanted her blood.

She'd just walk out nonchalantly and hopefully they hadn't spotted her. With Mingan at her heels, she walked out of the tavern and out onto the street. When she was far enough away, she dared a single glance back and panicked.

They had seen her.

As if she saw the situation amusing, Haka decided to add her one cent. _"They're following you."_

_"I know,"_ Aiyana replied dryly. _"What do you want me to do about it?"_

_"Either let them catch up and figure out what they want or run,"_ Haka answered already knowing what her answer was going to be.

_"For some reason, I prefer the latter."_

Mingan was growling softly beside her. He was walking protectively beside her, prepared to strike if either of those men decided to make a move. Aiyana placed a hand on his head and silently worked through her choices as she walked. Finally, she looked down at the wolf with a wary smile. His protectiveness would get him injured in a head on attack. So she needed to set it up so it was an ambush attack.

With a suddenness that probably threw her followers off, she fled into an alley. With a few quick words, she sent a clone of Mingan further down and hid herself. The two men appeared less than a second after she had settled in her hiding place. Her breath quickened as she could hear their voices, hardly five feet from her.

"Shit! The dog just went around the corner!" Kisame exclaimed. There were sounds of him trampeding off after her decoy.

Taking in a calming breath, she counted to ten and snuck out of her hiding spot. Becoming friends with the shadows on the wall, Aiyana attempted to leave the alleyway. Surprise overtook her when Itachi came out of the shadows and pinned her to the walls. Kisame appeared a moment later with a maniac smile on his lips.

"Now, girl, did you think a silly trick like that would work on us?" Kisame asked in amusement.

Aiyana grinned. "Do you want me to answer that honestly? Because I really do think it worked."

Surprise did not properly explain the look on Kisame's face when a black wolf pounced on him from the fire escape above. Itachi managed to keep his composure, however, and kept her pinned to the wall by her wrist. She glared at him and tried to use the sudden action to struggle to freedom, but was unsuccessful. Itachi had a grip like iron.

Her grin disappeared when she noticed that even with the surprise, she had no chance of freeing herself and Mingan had no chance of beating Kisame. "Mingan, off, go." The wolf looked up, whined, and then followed his instructions. Kisame glowered at her and studied his bloody hand. At least Mingan had managed to get one bite in. "I don't have the scroll anymore."

Itachi's red eyes narrowed whereas his partner laughed. "It's not the scroll we want. It's you."

Aiyana had done a well enough job holding the fear back, but now it was obvious in her eyes. It put her into action. With her free hand, she moved to grab her katana, but Itachi beat her to it. He grabbed it out of its sheath and held it up to her throat. "Do not underestimate us," he hissed.

"And don't underestimate us," Aiyana hissed back with a slight echo. Her usually deep blue eyes were replaced by the deep gold of a wolf.

There was mild surprise on his face from the sudden change. Her chakra was different, more potent and stronger, and her eyes were looking at him with a smile. The smile had not been there before. Her hand quickly formed the symbol for monkey and her chakra gathered. For a split second, he loosened his grip but it was enough for her to break free and make a run for it. Kisame swore and turned to run after her.

"Wait," Itachi ordered. The difference in chakra, the eyes, it made sense. "It's the demon not the girl."

Kisame looked at his partner. "You're saying the demon took control?"

"I think she gave it control."

"Do you want to go after her?" Kisame asked looking down the road. Not to his surprise, she was gone from view. But with the amount of overflowing chakra he had felt from her it shouldn't be too difficult to track her.

"No, the demon would put up more of a fight."

Haka was surprised they weren't tailing her, but she didn't think too hard on it. If they didn't want to follow her, then she should take advantage of the moment. Pulling the bandana off, she shook her head. The cloth obscured her hearing to the point that it was annoying. Aiyana really had issues if she could bare to wear it all the time.

_"Haka, what were you thinking?"_ Aiyana shouted at her. _"Some warning would have been nice!"_

Haka laughed and checked the door next to her. Unlocked, good enough for her. The more time she spent out in the open, the more time she gave the two men to catch up. _"You're welcome, Ai-chan. I know you just love it when I rescue you."_

Immediately, Aiyana scoffed_. "Rescue? You call that rescue? I was never in trouble!"_

Now it was Haka's turn to scoff. She silently headed up the stairs and checked for somewhere she could sneak out or hide_. "Never in trouble? While a katana was held to a throat and Sharky was planning on kidnapping you?"_ The door beside her opened and Haka stared at the opener.

_"Sasuke-kun!"_ Aiyana exclaimed the same moment he said, "Aiyana-chan?"

Haka was caught in an awkward moment.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked. He was staring at her curiously and she had a feeling it had more to do with just her location.

"I…uh…got lost," Haka answered sheepishly.

_"Haka, let me take over!"_ Aiyana hounded.

"Lost?" Sasuke repeated. He wasn't really looking at her. Ears were far more interesting than his conversation-particularly her twitchy, black wolf ears. Every time someone saw them, they couldn't help but stare. Sighing, she pushed them back into his room and shut the door. Closing her eyes, she allowed Aiyana to regain control. "What's going on?"

Aiyana frantically ran about the room, closing the windows and shutting the blinds, after checking to make sure no one was outside. A bit paranoid, he had to say. But once his room had been plunged into darkness, she sighed and sat on the couch. He flicked on a light switch and sat on his bed.

"Well?"

"The guys I stole the scroll from, they came back and they say they're after me."

"Itachi is here?" Sasuke asked in a quiet hiss.

Her eyes narrowed at him. "Yes, but why are you so interested?"

His eyes spelled murdered. "It's my job to kill him." She visibly stiffened, but before she could get the obvious question out he attempted to change the subject. "Why do you have wolf ears? And why did your eyes change color?"

Aiyana wouldn't have it. "Why do you want to kill him?" He was silent and looked away from her, clearly deciding the question was better left unanswered. "You know I'll find out regardless of if you tell me or not."

"Then find out on your own!" Sasuke snapped.

She bristled at his flare of anger and got up to leave. "Fine then, I think I will."

"Where do you think you're going?"

Aiyana glared at him. "To figure out why you want to kill that Itachi guy."

"You can't."

"Why not?"

"I know Itachi. He'll be out there waiting for you, but wanting to avoid a fight," Sasuke answered reluctantly. "He'll probably ambush you. You should stay here while I look for him."

The thief snorted at the ludicrous suggestion and blocked Sasuke from leaving. "You want to kill him. If you go out there then you'll probably do something reckless and get killed yourself. His shark buddy doesn't look like he'd be easy to defeat. And if it wasn't for Haka's help, I wouldn't have gotten away." Smugness from Haka radiated through her body. God, she hated admitting that.

Sasuke attempted to push her away from the door but she refused to budge. Instead, she gave him an amused look, with one ear up and the other tilted down like a dog's. "Fine," he growled. "Just explain the ears."

Said ears flattened. "It's a family trait," she muttered grudgingly. Sure that he wasn't going to leave, she took a seat on his couch. Sasuke quirked a brow up waiting for more of an explanation. She didn't know what else to tell him. "Passed down through the generations."

"Why does your family have dog ears?"

"Wolf," Aiyana corrected automatically. He huffed apathetically. "And it's not always ears. My mother had gold eyes and sharp canines, but normal ears. I heard from Haka that my great-grandmother actually had a tail."

Haka had been mentioned twice now, he realized. And she knew Aiyana's great grandmother as well as her, so she must be old. "Who is she?"

"My great-grandmother?"

"No, Haka."

Aiyana hesitated. "An old family acquaintance." Haka laughed at her vague wording.

"Where is Haka? You said she helped you escape."

She chewed her lip and looked away. It was an uncomfortable subject and not one that had been breached for five years. Not once had someone asked her about Haka. Her mind was coming blank for reasonable lies and Sasuke was expecting an answer. He probably wouldn't believe her if she told the truth, so perhaps the truth was her best option. Finally she sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "Can you keep a secret, Sasuke-kun?" His brow raised an inch. "Well, can you?"

"Of course."

Aiyana nodded and looked down at her lap. "Haka is inside me. She's a wolf spirit who has been in my family for generations."

Sasuke was staring at her. Perhaps it was a bad idea to tell him. What if he kicked her out and she got captured by those two men? After a long, awkward silence, he muttered under his breath, "just like Naruto."

Aiyana tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"What?"

"That I'm just like Naruto?"

"Nothing." Sasuke stood up hastily from his seat on the couch. He walked over to a small closet and pulled out extra blankets. Relief swept through her. He wasn't going to kick her out. Wait a second, did that mean he actually _believed _her? Well, he hadn't gone running down the streets screaming yet, so she supposed that was a good sign. "You can take the bed. I'll sleep on the couch."

Aiyana smiled and didn't protest. Anytime, anywhere, she would take advantage of kindness. Once they were both settled and the light was out, she turned on her side and looked at the couch. "Hey, Sasuke-kun."

"What?"

"Thanks."


	6. A Race of Sorts

Cat's Notes

Hi, kinda of an early update, but I'm traveling tomorrow so I decided to post early.

Some quick info: Aiyana use two jutsus in this chapter.

Transformation Technique (E-rank or acadamy level as I think of it) and Temporary Paralysis Technique (D-rank or genin level). Hopefully that will give you some idea on what level she's on when it comes to ninjutsus/genjutsus. She also reveals some of her skill with a katana and her interesting fighting style that comes with it. Where the skill comes from is briefly explained in this chapter and further explained in another. Also, keep in mind that she's a thief. :) I love thieves, best kind of character ever.

Anyways,

ReadEnjoyReview.

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><p>Wolf Thief<p>

Chapter 6: A Race of Sorts

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><p>Aiyana awoke to the smell of food. Entranced, she attempted to get out of bed only to find that her tossing and turning throughout the night had caused the blankets to tangle around her legs. Instead of getting up, she rolled off and hit the ground with a thump and a groan.<p>

Sasuke snorted with laughter. "You really are just like Naruto."

She snapped open her eyes and glared at him. "Quit saying that." Taking a minute to untangle herself, she stood up and wandered over to his small, compact kitchen. Strange that a twelve-year old kid was cooking on his own. Stranger still that he was living on his own. "Sasuke-kun, where are your parents? Are they out on a ninja mission or something?"

"No." His voice was crisp. She knew the tone and realized the mistake before he said anything. "They're gone."

"Sorry," she whispered and turned around to smile at him. "I guess you're like me too." She didn't give him a chance to respond. "Anyways, Mingan is probably worried, so I ought to go find him. Take care and I'll see you later."

The door slammed shut behind her before he even got a chance to say another word. Aiyana breathed out a sigh of relief on the other side, tied on her bandana, and left to head back to the hotel. It was the first place Mingan would be. With the sunlight and so many people wandering around, she wasn't worried too much about Itachi and Kisame. Yet her eyes remained open for any unusual suspects.

The hotel was much easier to find in daylight and after she asked a few locals for directions. The coal black wolf was lying protectively beside the front entrance of the building, eyeing everyone and anyone who walked by. A few people actually took a few steps farther away from the wolf. Her eyes caught on the blob of orange sitting on a bench beside Mingan.

"You know, orange isn't the most ninja-like color. In fact, you stick out like a sore thumb."

"Hey, hey! Don't make fun of the outfit!" Naruto snapped.

Aiyana laughed and walked into the lobby. "So I guess you decided to take up my offer to train? Because I haven't had a chance to practice in weeks."

"Nah, Kakashi-sensei is going to train us to death today since we missed yesterday." He placed his hands behind his head and grinned up at her. "But I'm up for breakfast."

Breakfast lead to Aiyana and Naruto becoming fast friends. The personality Naruto exuded simply was one that a person could not ignore. Every action he did brought forth an emotion, and most of it was humor or happiness. Humor, mostly. Especially when she discovered his breakfast, lunch, and dinner was ramen, either from a restaurant or an instant cup.

What struck her as strange was the fact the villagers pretended he did not exist. His vibrant personality filled the air, yet if he caught the eye of a single person, they did nothing. No smile, no frown, it was as if he wasn't there. After her mistake with Sasuke earlier, she decided to keep her observations to herself. Perhaps he'll explain it sometime soon.

"Where are you going, Naruto-kun?" she asked.

"To meet up with Kakashi-sensei and the others." He grinned at her, obviously unable to contain his excitement. "Kakashi-sensei has a test to see if you really are ninja material!"

She flushed, eyes wide. "Wh-what? But I'm no good at tests! And this…this is more like a pop quiz!" Running sounded like the best option at the moment. Maybe then she would have a chance to prepare herself for this 'test' that Kakashi had prepared for her. Yet Naruto had grabbed a hold of her arm with a menacing flash in his eyes.

"You aren't thinking of running, are you, Aiyana-chan?"

Gulp. "Uh, no, Naruto-kun," she answered, glancing away. What was wrong with this kid?

"Then let's go."

He bolted, dragging her behind and not even listening to her yelling and screaming. When they came to a sudden stop, she ran into him, then punched him. "You idiot! What was that for!"

Naruto rubbed his throbbing cheek and grinned up at her. "I got you here."

Surprised, Aiyana looked up at their location. Her feet were planted on the wood of a bridge that connected the village and one of the training fields. The training field was busy with ninjas, well, training and she spotted the rest of Team 7 underneath a nearby tree. It was too late to run. Naruto jumped to his feet and pushed her to the rest of the team.

"Tada, Kakashi-sensei!"

Aiyana glared at him as did Kakashi.

"So what's this test Naruto-kun told me about?" She crossed her arms and grinned at him. "I'm ready for anything."

"Only those who are not self-secure boast of their abilities," Kakashi commented lightly.

She felt the insult and glowered at him. "It's not boasting if it's the truth."

"Right." Kakashi slammed the book shut and looked down at her eye level. "To be a ninja of this village you need to prove three things: you have the skill for it, you're dedicated to the village, and you're dedicated to your team."

"Um…Kakashi-san, you're invading my personal space." And he was. His face was mere inches away from hers.

Immediately, he pulled back. "Today you're going to prove the first. There's a bell hidden somewhere in the training grounds. You have to find it, retrieve it, and bring it back to this tree." She opened her mouth to ask a question, but Kakashi held up his hand. "You'll have to avoid Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto in order to get it. You can use one weapon and three jutsus. If you get one scratch on you or the clock reaches twelve and you haven't found it, then you loose and you are not fit to be a ninja."

Aiyana pursed her lips and nodded.

"Great!" Kakashi chimed. "Pick your weapon."

"A katana," she answered. Kakashi raised a brow, doubtless wondering what had happened to hers. She wasn't about to tell him that it had been taken from her by Itachi. He pulled out a scroll and summoned the weapon for her. "Mingan, smell Kakashi-san and search the surrounding area for a bell with his scent on it."

Behind his mask, Aiyana could make out the touching of a smile.

"Hey! Wait a second, Kakashi-sensei, isn't that against the rules?" Naruto demanded.

"I never said anything against having assistance." Naruto scoffed, but didn't bring anymore protests to the table. "Alright, ready, set, go!"

"This isn't a race," Aiyana snapped at him. Apparently, to the ninja, it was. Sasuke and Sakura had disappeared at the word go and Naruto was charging at her with his fist raised. Aiyana immediately grabbed Kakashi and used him as a shield. To her surprise, he assisted by blocking Naruto's punch with his free hand. The other was busy holding up his book.

"Your goal is to hit Aiyana-chan, not me, Naruto," Kakashi drawled.

"That's who I was aiming for!" Naruto shouted.

"Really? Because she's not here."

Startled, Naruto pushed aside Kakashi and saw that Aiyana had vanished. "Wait a second…where did she go?"

Kakashi sighed and looked at the black wolf who was staring at him. Naruto was searching frantically for a girl who was right in front of him. Aiyana wagged her tail and then trotted across the field and into the trees without any hindrance.

Once safe inside the trees, Aiyana decided it was best to keep her illusion up. Sasuke and Sakura were probably also amongst the trees. Their goal was to keep Aiyana from the bells, not Mingan. As if to prove her point, Aiyana spotted Sakura staring at her from nearby pushes. She stretched in front of her, wagged her tail some more, and continued on. Might as well start looking on ground level first.

Half an hour of searching bore no fruit. Aiyana was tired of holding the illusion up and she was sure that the bells were not hidden in a bush or something of that sort. She had scoured the area while the real Mingan had scoured the training field. Neither of them had come up with anything, so it had to be in the trees.

A pair of red eyes were staring at her from the trees. Her heart fluttered in fear, thinking that they belonged to that man Itachi. They came flying at her. She dropped the illusion and used her katana to block the attack from the kunai. She pushed back and managed to back away only to find that she was fighting Sasuke. A breath of relief left her.

"You've been that wolf on the field all along?" Sasuke asked.

"No, that's really Mingan. I've been the one in the forest." She smiled and brought the katana up in defense.

"You know, the sheath is still on it," he pointed out.

"I know."

Sasuke shrugged. Obviously, she preferred it that way, so he'd let it be. Instead he pulled out three throwing stars and did that obvious action with them. Instead of blocking, she pulled herself into a tree and grinned down at him.

"I'm not much of a fighter, so I guess I'll run into you later Sasuke-kun."

She disappeared through the trees. Scowling, he took to the trees after her, but she had disappeared. His sharingan scanned the area for any chakra flow, and he found one, hiding in the bushes nearby. Pulling out a kunai, he snuck up behind and prepared to strike only to hear Sakura scream.

"Sasuke-kun! What are you doing?" Sakura was staring up at the point of his kunai.

"Shit, where did she go?"

"Aiyana-chan? I haven't se-Sasuke behind you!"

Sasuke whirled around in time to receive a punch in the face. Then his back hit the ground and he heard Sakura screech. A foot slammed down on his chest, keeping him pinned.

"Sakura-chan, you wouldn't happen to have some rope on you, would you?" Aiyana asked nicely. Sasuke groaned and cracked open his eyes to see Aiyana had the point of her katana at Sakura's throat. Sakura handed her rope and she quickly tied Sasuke's hands together before he came out of his daze. Then she tied Sakura's hands up, grinned, and ran off.

Aiyana sighed in relief. Both Sasuke and Sakura would be busy for a while, so she only needed to worry about running into Naruto. Strange, she hadn't seen that kid for a while. Well, she'd worry about it when she ran into him. Instead, she took the next hour to search through the trees.

Nothing.

"Fucking nothing!" Aiyana groaned, ruffling her hair in frustration. "Where did Kakashi-san hide this damn bell? I've searched the ground, bushes, trees! Mingan's even got his scent, and yet nothing!"

She felt like screaming. And did when a kunai flew out of the shadows at her. Sasuke's red eyes appeared again, glowing like a cat's in the dark. He stepped out of the shadows.

"You're good at masking your chakra," he commented dryly, "But it means nothing against the sharingan."

"What?" Aiyana asked incredulously.

Sasuke was confused by her confusion. "You don't know what the sharingan is?"

She shook her head for an entirely different reason than what he was thinking. Sasuke had unwittingly given her the answer she was looking for. He was about to launch into an explanation of the sharingan when Naruto burst into the trees with a loud charge. She grabbed a surprised Sasuke and pushed him in front of her, but this time he was ready. Sasuke blocked Naruto's punch from the front simply to avoid being hit by the idiot. Aiyana whirled around and managed to bring up her unsheathed katana to block Naruto's punch from behind. The clone vanished on contact with the blade.

Remembering that Sasuke was beside her, she turned to him and that he and Naruto were bickering. She grinned and ran out to the field since she had a chance. It took a moment for the two of them to realize she had left, but the moment they did, they were like hounds on the hunt. Naruto brought on short range attacks whereas Sasuke used long range such as kunai, shuriken, and some fireball jutsu she barely managed to avoid.

Naruto screamed at Sasuke that he was trying to kill him after the fireball disappeared. Taking advantage of the moment, Aiyana used a temporary paralysis jutsu on Naruto. She grinned at him and began to run at Kakashi who was standing underneath the tree.

To think that that idiot of a sensei had it all along! That was why Mingan couldn't sniff it out! Kakashi's own scent masked the scent on the bell. Well, she'd be damned if she lost this silly game now. Yet Sasuke seemed determined to make her lose. He appeared in front of her, his own katana in hand. Aiyana whirled around to look at Naruto and saw that Sakura was helping him dispel the jutsu. She whistled to summon the wolf from the woods and pointed at Sakura and Naruto. The wolf darted across the field like a dark shadow and pinned Sakura to the ground before she could raise a hand in defense.

Aiyana turned back to Sasuke with a smile. "Can't you just let me pass?"

"Kakashi-sensei said he'd make sure we'd get three weeks of E-ranked missions if we let you win," Sasuke answered. It was a rather lengthy way of saying no, she thought.

She sighed and held up her own sheathed katana in defense. Sasuke's attacks were fierce but predictable. He must have just started using the katana within the past year. Too bad he didn't know that she had seven years of practice with the weapon. It was a requirement at the academy she had attended to become skilled with a weapon of the student's choice and, like most of her classmates, she had chosen the katana. Her opening came when Sasuke reached too far. She side stepped, whipped her katana up and knocked the weapon out of his hands. Then she brought it down on his shoulder. Sasuke grunted in pain and hit the ground.

"Sorry, Sasuke-kun." She smiled at him and then dashed off to the tree. "Can I have the bell, Kakashi-san?"

Kakashi she looked up at her and smiled through his mask. He pulled the tinkling object out of his pocket and placed it in her hand. "Good job." He looked up past her. "Do you mind calling your dog off of my students now?"

Aiyana smiled. "Of course."

She whistled and Mingan abandoned Sakura to run over to her. Sakura immediately took a few minutes to release Naruto before running over to aid the wounded Sasuke. Naruto ran over to engulf her in a hug.

"Aiyana-chan! You're officially part of the team!"

"No, she's not," Kakashi countered. "She only proved that she has the skill to be a part of the team. We'll see about actually being a part of the team in a bit."


	7. The Uchihas

Cat's Notes

Okay, so I've made one little tweak to the story line-extremely minor but could prove essential. And that is the fact that the Mangekyou sharingan is a well known-though nearly a mythical-idea in the village. Yup, I think that's the one tweak I made; there's a few assumptions I made as well, but I'll explain those when they come up. As for Itachi's actions, they are explained a bit later story. Everything that doesn't make sense initially will get an explanation eventually-Promise!

Anywho, next chapter is when the wheels seriously get set in motion. Woot!

ReadEnjoyReview

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><p>Wolf Thief<p>

Chapter 7: The Uchihas

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><p>Kakashi was lying. At the rate he was going, she was pretty much part of the team. He made sure she attended every single one of the E-rank missions he had promised for three weeks. The hotel kicked her out at the end of the second, but the Hokage was kind enough to give her a temporary apartment until she could find something better. Kakashi made her stay after to give her extra lessons on chakra control and new fighting skills. He noticed her weak hold in ninjutsu and genjutsu and gave her a book to read on it. Sasuke insisted that she taught him how to fight with a katana in the morning or in the evening (depending on what was best). Occasionally she'd meet to spar with Naruto and eat dinner with the blonde. Sakura joined them for dinner every time they went. She was beginning to set a schedule.<p>

"I'm beginning to set a schedule!" Aiyana screeched. She grabbed the nearest thing and slammed her head against it. A schedule! She was becoming conventional! "Gah, I can't believe it!"

_"That's what happens when you live in one place for three weeks," _Haka commented.

_"Shut up. You're comments aren't needed." _

Aiyana rubbed her forehead and looked at the object she had hit her head with. The book Kakashi had given her. Now that she thought about it, he had mentioned it belonged to the library and she needed to return it for him. If it was late, he swore that he would make her pay the fine. Sighing she looked at the clock and knew she had just enough time to get to the library and back before she met Sasuke for evening training.

After asking a few people for directions, she and Mingan found the library. The lady at the front desk told her that Mingan had to sit outside. Mingan left with his tail and head hanging low and Aiyana returned the book. Then she noticed the one sitting beside the old lady at the desk. Uchiha Clan: A Complete History. Wasn't Uchiha Sasuke's last name?

She snatched the book and walked out with it in her hands without the old receptionist noticing.

Once she returned to the apartment, she settled into the nearest chair and pried open the book. The first few pages were an introduction which she completely disregarded. The next two after that was a massive family tree. She scanned the bottom of it to find Sasuke's name.

"Ah! There it is Mingan!" she exclaimed and pointed to it. The name beside it was Itachi Uchiha. The two of them had the same mother and father. Brothers. That guy Itachi with the weird red eyes was Sasuke's brother. "Wait a second, Mingan, Sasuke wants to kill his own brother!" She stared at the family tree to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Yup, brothers. "There has to be a reason!"

Aiyana flipped through the chapters till she was at the end.

_Part III: The Final Years._

Okay, now that was strange. She read on and learned more about Sasuke's mother, father, and brother than she cared to know. Apparently Itachi was some kind of prodigy who activated his sharingan when he was four. She had to flip through the book to figure out what the hell a sharingan was. She found it in the glossary because a history book _needed_ a glossary.

_Sharingan-a genetic eye technique that naturally occurs in members of the Uchiha clan. It is not immediately present from birth, and first activates in a stressful situation in battle; after this occurrence, the user may utilize the Sharingan freely. When first acquired, the Sharingan has only one tomoe, and as its power increases, two additional tomoe will eventually appear. _

The author had even been nice enough to include a drawing _with color_! The crimson eye stared up at her, three black commas circling its black pupil. If she stared at it long enough, she swore it would move. So instead, she slammed the book shut. "Damn, creepy ass, demon eyes!" she muttered under her breath.

She opened it up again a few seconds later and continued to read. Sasuke was barely mentioned until he was eight. The majority of the author's focus was on Itachi and his amazing growth through the ninja world. She had to give the guy credit. ANBU captain at 13 was pretty impressive. And then she found the page where everything began to go downhill. Apparently Shisui Uchiha, Sasuke and Itachi's cousin, committed suicide. Blame was pushed onto the person closest to him-Itachi.

In all honesty, she felt like she was reading a drama story.

_Many believe that Itachi murdered Shisui in order to obtain the unthinkable-the mangekyou sharingan. _

_"Exciting! A plot twist!"_ Haka chimed as Aiyana flipped through the book to find the definition of mangekyou sharingan.

_"Didn't I tell you that your comments weren't necessary?" _Aiyana growled as she stared at yet another drawing. It was creepier than the last, she had to admit. Blood red again, fitting considering he murdered someone for it, with an odd shuriken looking thing in the center.

_Mangekyou_ _Sharingan: a heightened form of Sharingan. It is rare among the members of the Uchiha clan, present only in those who have killed their closest friends._

She stared at the strange eye for a bit longer before flipping back to her original page.

_Over the next few weeks, Itachi Uchiha further distanced himself from his clan. On October 11th, he took it a step further and massacred the entire clan once dusk fell. The only survivor was his younger brother Sasuke Uchiha. _

_Many theories have been contrived to explain Itachi's sudden, destructive behavior. We shall consider some of these in later-_

Aiyana slammed the book shut. She had already learned too much about that man to even want to think about what he could have been thinking. On the other hand, Sasuke…was waiting for her!

"Shit!" Aiyana shouted grabbing her things and running out the door. She locked Mingan inside without realizing in her rush. He whimpered and pawed at the door to no avail. She was already gone. As Sasuke was when she reached the training the field. Aiyana kicked up dirt but couldn't blame him. He probably had enough waiting to do when it came to Kakashi-san and she was half an hour late.

Aiyana stuffed her hands in her pocket and took a longer route back to her apartment. Along the way, she found a road that she had yet to explore. Well, there still was some light and she had nothing better to do. The road led away from the heart of the village and through a residential area. She was about to turn back when she noticed a crumbling wall at the far end of the road. When she reached it, she looked to the left and right and saw the boarded up entrance. A plaque beside it read Uchiha Complex.

"You're kidding," she muttered under her breath.

Glancing up and down the road, she made sure no one was watching and began to pull off some of the boards. After a couple of minutes she had made a hole big enough for her to squeeze through. And there she was, standing in the exact place she had been reading about nearly an hour earlier.

She got goosebumps up and down her arms as she wandered down the dirt road. The place had been abandoned for five years and it showed. Houses were beginning to cave in on themselves. Web like cracks crawled through any form of glass and rotting wood. A few rats scuttled across her path as she walked. The tops of the walls were eroding. Some of the doors hung of their hinges and signs had fallen. She got the feeling that she didn't belong. It was as if the abandoned houses themselves knew she wasn't an Uchiha. She was simply a curious trespasser.

And the house at the end of the road was the most imposing building she had ever seen.

It had to belong to the head of the clan. Itachi and Sasuke's father. Yes, that was right. Itachi was set to be head of the clan. Man, it was creepy how much she knew about him now. Yet she didn't even notice when he was standing right behind her.

"What are you doing here?"

Aiyana screamed and whirled to face her stalker. His red eyes stared at her curiously and she immediately backed away from him. "I-I was just…uh…I…was sight-seeing." Her back pressed against the wood of the gate. Was that a spark of amusement in his demon eyes? "You're Itachi Uchiha."

Itachi cocked his head as if he was cat.

"I've been reading about you." She flushed, realizing what she had just said. "In a non-creepy, non-stalkerish way, I mean. But, it wouldn't matter, cause I'm a thief and my whole career is centered on information." It took her another minute to realize her mistake. "Shit."

"Aiyana-chan," Itachi said calmly. She was really crept out by the fact that he knew her name. Of course, what crept her out even more was his next question. "Do you want to know why I killed my clan?"

Oh God, maybe she should have read farther into the book; it could have given her a better idea on how to approach possibly (or probably) clinically insane, murderous men. After all, his reasoning behind the murders must be very shallow if he was willing to share with a complete stranger. Like, for example, his twelve-year old girlfriend broke up with him and he went on a killing spree or something of the sort. She'd be better off just not hearing anything at all.

"Honestly," she said after a calming breath, "I don't. I already know enough about you. I don't want to know about how your twisted mind works. How about I just leave you and your little complex in peace and we'll pretend this encounter never happened, okay?"

She attempted to leave, but Itachi place an arm in front of her path. He was taller than her and his outstretched arm reached up to her eye level. She followed the lines of his arm back to his face. "Did I not say it last time? Akatsuki wants you."

"I do not want Akatsuki," she answered flatly, looking into his red eyes. Red with the blood of his victims, she thought. The very idea that she could be standing in the spot that someone died sent shivers down her spine. Itachi noticed and frowned.

"Are you cold?"

"What?" Did he seriously just ask her if she was cold? What was this? Murderers Give Sympathy Day? Well, if he wanted to give her sympathy, then he should let her go. "No, I'm not. But I would like to leave."

"Aiyana-chan, please do not make this difficult," Itachi said with a note of tiredness.

Difficult? This man was being difficult! Was it that difficult to understand that her answer was no? Another calming breath with her eyes closed this time. "Me? Make this difficult? You're making it difficult by ignoring the fact that I'm telling you no!" She shoved a finger into his chest and he actually seemed a bit startled. "I like it here! And I won't be going with you and Sharky to this Akatsuki gang or whatever it is! So how about you just let me go on my merry way and ditch this town, okay, Itachi-san!" She paused, perhaps for dramatic affect or just to breathe, and added as an afterthought, "By the way, I want my katana back!"

He looked away, not as if he wanted to avoid eye contact but as if he had heard something. "Kisame-san is returning. If you are not out of sight by the time he returns, then you will be coming to Akatsuki whether you want to or not." Her mouth dropped open in shock. His eyes narrowed at her. "Do you want to come?" He asked simply because she hadn't moved.

"Of course not!" she snapped and immediately dashed away.

That was the second time that Itachi Uchiha had helped her. Intentionally or not she had yet to determine.


	8. Mission I

Cat's Notes

So, to go along with the media, looks like we all survived the end of the world. Again. According to a list I found, I've survived like twenty-something predictions. Most noteably, 1994 (by our local nutcase Harold Camping), Jan 1st of 2000, and May 21st of 2011. I will also be surviving Dec 21st of 2012, thank you very much. I still need to become the next Steve Irwin. ;) Leave me a review if you've also survived the end of the world. Mwhahaha. You'll never get a hold of me, God!

In any case, to a relevant topic. Chapter 8. Is...well...nothing. Actually, I may post a chapter explaining exactly how the thieving world operates. You pick up a few clues here and there, but Aiyana doesn't explain anything until chapter like 25 or something around there. For now it'll suffice to say that thieves have their own community in the Naruto World...like Assassin's Creed if you're into video games...except without an official guild. Yup. And Kakashi still hates Aiyana.

ReadEnjoyReview ;)

* * *

><p>Wolf Thief<p>

Chapter 8: Mission I

* * *

><p>Aiyana pushed all memories of the night before in the very back corner of her mind as she met with Sasuke the next morning for their usual practice. To her surprise, there was an unusual and lethargic blob of orange next to him. When she approached, she took Sasuke's katana and poked the curled up blob.<p>

"Naruto-kun, why are you up so early?"

"It's seven," Sasuke countered.

Naruto clambered to his feet and wiped the drool away from the corner of his mouth. "I was going to eat breakfast with Iruka-sensei, but he cancelled last second." His eyes drooped for a second, so she poked him again. "So I decided to come out here and train with you guys!"

"Idiot," Sasuke muttered. Obviously, he disapproved.

Aiyana, on the other hand, was beaming. "Naruto-kun! You're messing up my schedule!" She said the fact so cheerfully yet she whacked him on the head. Was messing up her schedule a good thing or a bad thing? "I like it!" She tossed the katana back to Sasuke. "Let's take a break and go out for breakfast instead."

Sasuke frowned at the idea, but the idea of food instantly woke Naruto. He was charging off to the ramen stall before they had a chance to discuss where they wanted to eat. Aiyana sighed and smiled at Sasuke. "Come on, Sir Trains-A-Lot. I'm paying, I guess."

Sasuke raised a brow, as far as he knew, she had no real money and no source of income since she wasn't a ninja yet. "With what money?"

Her smile widened and she turned to follow Naruto. After a moment of thought, Sasuke decided that he needed the break and followed. She smiled softly when his footsteps fell into time with hers. Mingan acted as the barrier, walking between them with a silly wolf grin.

"So, I found out," she announced suddenly. Sasuke glanced at her with complete and utter confusion. The conversation was three weeks ago, it probably wouldn't be the first thing that popped into his head. "So your brother is a psycho, huh?" She was trying to keep the tone light, but with such a heavy topic, it was impossible.

Sasuke had stiffened considerably. "He's not a psycho."

Aiyana looked at him as if he was crazy. She opened her mouth to argue, but the look in his eyes told her to drop the topic. Of course, she simply couldn't just drop it. "But don't you think killing him is a bit extreme? Shouldn't you at least try to find out why he did it?"

The Uchiha's aura had darkened so much that Mingan had actually begun to growl. "I already know why. That's why I have to kill him." Aiyana stopped and stared at him with a slight frown. Now that she thought about it, Itachi would have told her the reason last night if she had said yes. Perhaps she should have. Sasuke broke the eye contact first. "I'm going to train."

In the end, she ditched Naruto. The kid would figure out how to pay on his own. Instead, she found her way back to the entrance of the Uchiha compound. The broken boards were still on the ground; she could slip in and find him again. Assuming he was still there, that is. More than likely, he would move, worried that she might tell someone his and his partner's location.

Yet she could still check. It wouldn't hurt, right?

"Hey, kid, what are you doing there?"

Aiyana looked down the road to see an older man approaching. She grinned at him. "Just checking it out!"

He stopped not too far away. "No one's allowed in there." She nodded in understanding while staring at the boards. "No one would want to go in there anyways. It's cursed land, you know."

"It is?" Aiyana replied applying a hint of interest to the question.

"Of course it is, girl!" the man replied. "Any place where a great number of people died is cursed."

Aiyana looked at him and saw the spark of sorrow in his eyes. He must have known someone killed in the massacre. She smiled sweetly. "Cursed, huh? You'd think the man who killed them all would be cursed as well."

The old man scoffed. "Itachi Uchiha has been cursed since the day he was born." She started and looked at him, but he was too busy studying the crumbling wall to notice. "That poor boy, with what he's been through, it's no wonder he snapped so suddenly."

"What do you mean?" she asked hesitantly. She already knew so much about Itachi that she was worried learning more might affect her mental abilities. "I thought he was prodigy. Wouldn't that make him blessed or something?"

The old man smiled solemnly. "Oh yes, he was quite the ninja. A prodigy for sure. But with such power comes responsibility and to thrust such responsibility onto a child. Why, it couldn't even be considered human." His eyes looked at her and she immediately dropped her gaze. "Don't you have class or something to attend?"

"What? Oh, right." Aiyana sighed and gave the man a small bow in respect. "Thanks for the conversation, sir." She left him staring sorrowfully at the gates.

* * *

><p>"We have a mission."<p>

Naruto cheered at the announcement. Well, until Sakura hit him on the back of the head. "He could mean another E-ranked one, Naruto!"

Kakashi smiled behind his mask. "No, it's C-ranked."

"Really!" Sakura exclaimed happily.

"What's C-ranked?" Aiyana whispered to a still seething Sasuke. Apparently, he still hadn't forgotten their conversation from earlier. The kid was good at holding grudges, she decided.

He frowned and his eyes flickered at her for a moment. "It's a mission usually meant for chuunin. Why are we doing it, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hm? Well, it's a pretty simple mission. I thought you guys could handle it. Especially with an extra addition to the team." His eye landed on Aiyana who seemed startled by the revelation that she was accompanying them.

"What is it? What is it? What is it? Wha-"

Sakura hit Naruto again and he promptly shut his mouth.

"We're to go to Fukui; it's a village about a two day walk from here. Fukunaka Tokaji has had a number of paintings stolen from him. It's our job to find and apprehend the paintings and the thieves responsible for the theft." He was watching her the entire time, trying to gauge her reaction. She didn't give him one other than feigned interested; she wasn't about to let him know that she was fuming on the inside. "So go pack your things and meet here in an hour!"

"This is so cool!" Naruto yelled before dashing down the road.

For once, Sakura didn't become annoyed with him and only smiled. Sasuke grunted and went on his way. Aiyana made to leave, but Kakashi stopped her.

"Are you sure you're alright accompanying us on this mission, Aiyana-chan?"

Aiyana grinned at him. "Of course, I'm loyal to this village now, aren't I?"

He seemed to mistrust her. Perhaps she was being a bit too cheerful. Yet, suddenly, he smiled. "If you complete this mission, I'll give you your forehead protector."

She repeatedly kicked the dirt on her way back, cursing the silver-haired jounin to the high heavens. To think that he had the nerve to pick such a mission for them! For her, more specifically! And all to test her loyalty to the village! Well, she wasn't about to tell him that her loyalty fell short, far shorter than what he expected. Sure, she liked Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura, but the village itself? Well, the village was an entirely different matter.

"I hate him!" she shouted freely once she was in the apartment. Mingan whined and quickly moved out of her way and wrath. "I mean, he's pitting me against my own kind! Why am I even trying to be a ninja anyways!"

_"It's always been your goal, Ai-chan," _Haka commented dryly.

Aiyana growled and threw her things in her bag without thinking. Wait, would she need food? Does Kakashi provide all of that?_ "I'm perfectly content as a thief, Haka."_

_"Then why are you going?"_

She shouted in frustration and sat on the floor. Mingan whined and placed his head on her lap. Absentmindedly, she ran her hand through his fur. It was calming_. "I don't know."_

_"You know, if you complete this mission and anyone else finds out, then you'll be an outcast in the thieving world."_

Aiyana snorted at the idea. Who would think that the infamous Wolf Thief could become a traitor? She was one of the most well-known, one of the best, one of the most loyal thieves there were. And for her to suddenly turn her back on that world. Well, everyone would be beyond shocked.

_"Doing this mission would be committing yourself to Konoha and the ninja world. And you know as well as I that the ninja world is far crueler than the thieving one will ever be."_

_"Thieves never betray their own kind,"_ Aiyana muttered, thinking back on Itachi. "_And they will never make a mark on the world. I begged mom to go to the ninja academy, so I can help make the world a better place. Now I finally have a chance to do that; I'd rather not give it up."_

She stood up and made sure she had gathered everything into her bag. Mingan trotted happily behind her as she met the others at the bridge. Kakashi was mildly surprised at her presence amongst the group, but he nodded his understanding. In response, she glared at him. The choice he was giving her was not one that she wanted to make.

* * *

><p>Two days of uneventful walking lead them to Fukui. By Aiyana's standards, the village was quite large and yet it was nothing compared to Konoha. According to Kakashi's background information, the village was the largest in the region and had the only hospital. Rolling fields were to the north of the village and woods surrounded the rest.<p>

Aiyana had to admit she felt more like a detective than a ninja. The majority of the first day was spent gathering details from Fukunaka Tokaji and searching for evidence so they could figure out who the two men were. Naruto was the one that found the evidence. He came running into Kakashi's interrogation waving about a note as if it was the most amazing thing in the world.

The only thing on it was a drawing of two birds in a tree.

"Where did you find it, Naruto?" Kakashi asked, taking the note from him.

"It was under the desk in the room where that really big painting as taken from," Naruto explained.

Kakashi sighed and showed the note to Tokaji-san. "Have you seen it before?"

"No, never," Tokaji replied.

Aiyana and Sasuke returned to the room from their search. Immediately, Naruto snatched the paper from Kakashi and shoved it in Sasuke's face. "Look what I found, teme!"

Sasuke huffed, but Aiyana quickly grabbed it. "Well, I'll be damned. This is the Tori Brothers doing." There was a silence that blanketed them after her announcement. She huffed irritably. "The Tori Brothers are two brothers who go after famous art work, like yours, Tokaji-san. Usually they'll leave a piece of paper like this hanging in place of the most valuable artwork. It must have fallen from the wall if you didn't find it right away."

"You know who they are?" Sakura asked. "What they look like?"

"We've had a couple of run-ins here and there over the past few years." Aiyana gave the paper back to Kakashi who quickly kept it as evidence. "It's good news for you, Tokaji-san. Since their thefts are usually on a grander scale, they can't leave the village right away until some of their buyers collect the goods. There's a chance they're still here in the village."

Tokaji-san's eyes lit up like light bulbs at the news.

"Excellent, we'll go scout the village."

Kakashi just wanted out of the house. He was right in thinking that Aiyana would be a useful resource on this mission if she came. Once outside of the house, Kakashi directed them to a hotel instead of scouting the village as he said. He could already see his plan in action and all of it required a certain "former" thief.


	9. Between Thieves

Cat's Notes

Hi! Sorry about missing last week; I was on vaca with family :)

So stuff about this chapter...I should probably start doing this stuff at the end of the chapter but I'm so used to doing it at the beginning. Whatever...

Haka's explanation is vague and thin and is supposed to be that way. It's Aiyana's story, not Haka's, so Haka leaves it up to Aiyana to fill in details...which she does...eventually. (Just so you know this story will probably have between 30-40 chapters. Right now I'm working on chapter 22. Just to give you an idea.)

Also, I kind of give you a glimpse into the thieving world; it acts a bit like an unofficial guild, I guess. Um...quick poll question! Please answer! **Would you like me to post a chapter explaining the dynamics of the thieving world or would you prefer to wait until (approximently) chapter 25 for an explanation? **Just a question, send me a review/message with the answer if you feel so inclined to.

I also left ya with a cliffhanger (my first one I believe!). Mwhaha!

ReadEnjoyReview. :)

One last thing! Aiyana went to the bathroom to put the communications device on her ear ;)

* * *

><p>Wolf Thief<p>

Chapter 9: Between Thieves

* * *

><p>Kakashi gathered the team up early the next morning to discuss their next move. Aiyana yawned and lazily scratched a still slumbering Mingan behind his ears. Naruto had fallen asleep in the three second lapse of silence. Sakura was constantly drifting off and then shaking her head in an attempt to keep herself up. Sasuke, being the perfect ninja, was sitting straight up and paying close attention.<p>

"Today, we're going to be normal civilians."

Naruto jerked awake at the announcement and touched his forehead protector. "Why, sensei?"

"Aiyana-chan thinks that the thieves are still in the village. Therefore, we cannot let them know there are ninjas here or they'll flee like scared chickens." Aiyana huffed and crossed her arms. Scared chickens was certainly not the similarity she would have used. It was more likely that the thieves would relocate like the foxes they were.

"So we're going to look for them in the village today?" Sasuke concluded.

"And what happens if we find them? How are we going to find the art? They probably won't tell us where they stashed it," Sakura asked.

Kakashi leaned back and directed his gaze to the former thief. "No, they won't tell us, but I'm sure they'll tell Aiyana."

She froze and stared blatantly back at him. "And why do you think that?"

"Thieves trust each other, don't they?" Her expression darkened and he took that as a confirmation. "Then they'll trust you; they don't know that you're training as a ninja in Konoha. So all we have to do is come up for a reason for you to see the paintings and they'll lead us straight to them."

"I won't do it." Four pairs of eyes stared at her for her blunt refusal. "I am not about to misuse their trust in me so you can capture them and haul them off to jail!"

"They're criminals," Sakura said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"And I'm just like them!" Aiyana snapped at her. She didn't notice her mistake of using present tense, but Kakashi did. "In fact, I've stolen more than they ever can! But you wouldn't dare call me a criminal, would you, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura immediately flushed and looked at the ground. Naruto picked up the conversation instead. "But you're one of us now!"

"I'm not wearing a forehead protect, now, am I?" she dead-panned.

"Aiyana-chan, why did you come on this mission?" Kakashi asked. His calm voice penetrated the argument like an arrow. She stared at him for a full ten seconds without really understanding what he asked. So he asked again. "You knew the mission meant you would have to capture a thief. You knew it meant that you had to turn your back on thieving. So why did you come?"

She didn't know how to respond. _"Tell him," _Haka ordered.

_"No, they don't need to know about my personal life." _

_"Then I'll tell."_

Aiyana didn't get a chance to object when Haka took over. Haka kept her eyes shut, made it appear as if she was thinking or reminiscing as she spoke. "I used to attend the ninja academy at Amekagure. My mother was still alive back then, so I foolishly promised her that I'd be one of the best ninjas, that I'd make the world a better place for the both of us."

_"I hate you, Haka! Give me control of my body right now!" _

The wolf spirit complied and Aiyana continued without missing a beat. Her eyes snapped open. "Of course, she's dead now and it was a foolish promise. I shouldn't even be trying to accomplish it now."

Team 7 was shocked by her sudden (and forced) admission. "But...but it's your dream Aiyana-chan! And you promised your mother!" Naruto exclaimed jumping up from his chair and grabbing a hold of her hands. "You have to become a ninja now!"

Aiyana yanked her hands out of his grasp. "Actually, I just decided I don't."

"But what would your mother say? Suddenly turning your back on your dream?" Naruto asked solemnly.

"Not much," Aiyana admitted. "Our family has a history of failed dreams."

"Then shouldn't you be the first to break that trend?" Sasuke asked calmly from his seat. "I even think Haka would support that."

She glowered at him as Haka chimed, _"I like this kid!"_ It was the first time Sasuke had mentioned Haka since the night she was trapped in his apartment. He had recognized the fact that Haka had taken control a moment ago. And if he had noticed, then Kakashi probably did too. The jounin was staring at her as if she was an alien.

"Fine," she snapped at Sasuke before turning to Kakashi. "What do you want me to do?"

* * *

><p>Naruto and Sasuke were the ones who located the two brothers. With directions being yelled into her ear through an earpiece, Aiyana managed to position herself for the perfect interception. Already she felt the guilt setting in and she sincerely hoped that she would not spot them and they would not spot her. Of course, she had no such luck. It was easy for her to pick out the familiar faces and Mingan was usually an obvious indicator for her. They waved and she reluctantly returned the gesture.<p>

"Comrade Wolf," the brothers greeted simultaneously. It was a traditional thief greeting.

"Comrades Tori," she replied with a small nod. "I was nearby when I heard about a recent theft that sounded like your handiwork. Guess I was right."

The brothers smiled. The two of them weren't twins, but anyone could mistake them as such. The taller one was younger by a year. Both had a mop of dark hair that hung over their brown eyes. The older one's smile was a bit more lopsided; the younger one's nose was crooked. She never managed to remember their real names, so she simply referred to them as Tori-kun and Tori-chan, the older and younger respectively. On the other hand, the brothers had always managed to remember her name.

"Look at that, nii-san! Aiyana-chan knows us by our thieving ability!" Tori-chan grinned at her. Though he was older than her, the two had just recently entered the thieving business. She had a run-in with them on one of their first thefts and instantly scolded them on their sloppy handiwork.

Tori-kun chuckled. "I don't know if that's a good or bad, brother." He smiled his endearing lopsided smile at her. "How have you been, comrade?"

She let out a small laugh. "Well, I've had a couple of people on my case about my last theft. For now, I'm lying low and trying to throw them off. What about you two? How was this one?"

"Easy-"

"-Peasy."

Shit, she had forgotten about their habit of finishing each others sentences and thoughts. It was as if they were mentally connected on the same frequency. "Have you gotten buyers for everything yet?"

They looked at each other and shrugged. "We've got three left. Two of them have potential buyers, the other one…"

"…everyone is too scared to buy. It is the most famous out of all the ones stolen."

"The Dawn Voyager," the two said simultaneously.

Aiyana could feel a headache coming on. "Well, in that case, let me take a look at it. I may be able to think of someone who'd want to add it to their collection."

Again the two brothers looked at each other and smiled. Tori-kun spoke first. "Good, we need a buyer for it."

"It is much too large to carry."

"We won't be able to leave town with it."

"At least, not without drawing notable attention to ourselves."

Did you catch that Kakashi? They're trapped until The Dawn Voyager is sold! Aiyana pursed her lips at the thought and noticed that the two thieves were watching her with a bit of confusion. She needed an explanation for her expression. Luckily one came easily to her.

"You two should know better by now," she scolded, "you shouldn't steal something of extreme value unless you have a confirmed buyer. If you don't, then you'll be stuck with it and if police catch you. Well, that puts you in a tight spot." The two of them flushed with embarrassment. "Anyways, when can you show me the painting?"

"Tonight," Tori-chan replied adamantly.

"At eight," Tori-kun added.

"You can meet us at the bar across the street."

Aiyana's eyes followed Tori-chan's extended finger to the bar he was pointing at and nodded. "Okay, eight o'clock then."

* * *

><p>"They're late."<p>

Aiyana grimaced with annoyance as she heard Sasuke complain through the radio. Yes, the two brothers were late, but it had only been five minutes since the appointed meeting time. She shot a glare in their general direction and hoped he noticed. The earpiece was meant for her to hear instructions not complaints.

"Aiyana-chan! Mingan-kun!"

Aiyana turned to see Tori-chan running at her and Mingan with a grin. Unfortunately, she felt too guilty to return the smile with enthusiasm. Even Mingan felt the guilt; it was obvious in his lack of tail wagging. Instead, she gave him a weak one and hoped he didn't notice. His brother did. Tori-kun cocked his head in a quizzical way.

"Is there something wrong, Aiyana-chan?" he asked calmly.

"It's nothing," she replied instantly massaging her head as if it was bothering her. "Just a headache." To her surprise, he place two fingers under her chin and lifted her face up until she was looking in his eyes. Though Tori-kun wasn't her type, she felt her cheeks burn at the gesture and dark intensity in his eyes. It was a bit unusual, but Tori-kun had always been the more serious of the two. "Comrade Tori, are you feeling alright?"

Immediately he took a step back. "Just making sure you were telling the truth, Comrade Wolf."

She frowned and wondered if they had gotten whiff of the ninja in town. Kakashi had done as much as possible to keep them incognito, but Tori-kun seemed suspicious. And she was anxious. All she wanted to do was finish the mission and put everything behind her.

"It is a bit unusual for you to feel ill," Tori-chan chimed, perhaps trying to explain his brother's behavior. She smiled at him and realized that it was true. Thanks to Haka, she rarely fell ill. "In any case, tell us about this buyer, Aiyana-chan!"

She laughed, perhaps a little too dryly. "After I see the painting. I don't want to get your hopes up. My buyer has a tendency to be a bit on the picky side."

From there, Tori-chan held most of the conversation with occasional inputs from his brother. Was it just her or had he become a bit more talkative since she last saw him? She shook her head at the thought. Tori-chan had always been talkative and friendly. It was simply the anxiety getting to her. And with Naruto and Sasuke having loud verbal arguments over the radio and into her ear, the anxiety was getting to her.

The Tori Brothers hide out was a well hidden cabin in the woods surrounding the village. Other than the camouflage, the structure had no defense. From what she could see, there was a door and a window on each side of the door. It was a very typical looking cabin. And, on the inside, there was absolutely nothing.

"Aiyana, we're waiting for your signal," Kakashi said over the earpiece. The signal was a flash bomb, something that would momentarily stun the two thieves and give the ninja a chance to move. But she was only supposed to use it when she confirmed the paintings were real.

There were no paintings.

"I don't understand," she said turning to face the brothers. "Did you get…"

The brothers were gone.

In their place stood two recognizable S-class criminals.


	10. The Third Encounter

Cat's Notes

Hi, sorry, I completely forgot about yesterday. So here's chapter 10! I don't have any notes on it. Anndd since no one answered the question from last chapter than I'll assume ya'll are patient readers and can wait till Chapter 25ish for explanations. Yup.

One last thing, next update will be **two weeks **from today. Sorry. Going camping this weekend so I won't have any internet access. :)

ReadEnjoyReview~

* * *

><p>Wolf Thief<p>

Chapter 10: The Third Encounter

* * *

><p>Mingan was growling, his ears flat against his head and body low to the ground. If she gave the order, he would pounce on Gills like a rabid wolf. Of course, Gills was looking pretty rabid himself especially with a smile that revealed all his pointed teeth. She had done a bit of research on him after her run in with Itachi at the Uchiha Complex. Turned out that he was also an S-class criminal with an urge to murder his friends and teammates.<p>

"What's not to understand, girl?" Kisame asked gleefully.

She now wished that she had agreed to let Kakashi put that microphone on her as well. Instead, she found herself in a fairly dire situation. "Why does this Akatsuki organization want me?"

She had also tried to dig up information about Akatsuki, yet there was nothing to dig up. It was an obscure organization, to the point where people still contemplated its existent. Discovering anything about it would take resources and time. She had the resources, but not the time. All she knew was that Kisame and Itachi were part of the organization and they wanted the bijuus for power.

"It's not actually you that we want." Kisame's grin was malicious. "It's what's inside you."

"Haka," Aiyana concluded, struggling to keep her voice calm. "How do you know about her?"

For a second, he seemed confused. "You don't know?"

"Know what?" she demanded.

His grin widened. "Oh, this is good. What do you think, Itachi-san?"

"I think we're wasting time," Itachi replied coolly.

Aiyana turned her head to him, his red demon eyes gleaming in the low lighting of the hut. Static filled her ears. "Aiyana, you have three minutes to give the signal or we're coming in," Kakashi announced. Three minutes, if she could stall them for three minutes then she'd be safe! Or, if she set of the flash bomb. Her hand snaked into her pocket.

"You, Itachi-san, what's the point of kidnapping me now? You had the perfect opportunity the other night when I wandered into the Uchiha compound."

Kisame looked at his partner with surprise. It was the first time he was hearing about the incident. Itachi, of course, reacted calmly. "Your disappearance would have called attention; Konoha would have sent out search teams and it would have caused trouble."

"They'll do the same thing now," Aiyana snapped.

"They won't," Itachi answered.

"Why not?"

"Because, girl, you're going to run away with your little thief friends." Kisame grinned at her startled expression.

Then her quizzical one.

And then the realization.

They were right. Kakashi and the rest of the team would think that she had fled with the two thieves. She had walked in with the two brothers. When they search the place and find nothing, not her nor the artwork, they'll assume that she left Konoha and her dream of becoming a ninja. The argument she had earlier that day wasn't putting anything in her favor either. She had to act now!

Aiyana yanked out the flash bomb and raised her hand to throw forcefully on the wooden floor. Itachi reacted faster than she could ever imagine. He grabbed her wrist and forced her against the wall. The flash bomb dropped harmlessly to the floor. Mingan growled and jumped at the Uchiha, but Kisame intercepted and knocked the wolf to the ground with his samehada. Aiyana let out a strangled cry and attempted to move to the wolf's side.

Itachi held her securely against the wall. His eyes flickered to her bandana where the earpiece was making an obnoxious amount of noise with Kakashi calling out to her. Immediately, he pulled down the bandana and started. Kisame let out a low whistle. Her ears flattened against her head, nearly hiding themselves in her thick hair. Yet Itachi reached up and pulled off the earpiece, listening in for a moment.

"Aiyana, I'm giving you 30 seconds to give the signal. We have the place surrounded. If you plan on escaping-"

He dropped it and crunched it underneath his sandal. But they both knew what it meant. Already the ninja were beginning to doubt her. "You ninja are the most untrusting breed of-" Itachi pressed a wet cloth against her mouth and nose. It smelled unusual and tasted worse than it smelled. Her mind was beginning to fog and her thoughts became unclear. Then she slumped forward, unconscious.

* * *

><p>"Dammit, this dog is a lot heavier than I thought it'd be."<p>

It was the first thing she heard when her mind came back to the real world. Her eyes flickered open and she panicked for a moment, realizing the only thing she could see was black. It took her a moment to realize that it was clothing and she was moving. She looked to the side and saw trees flying by and occasionally Kisame, a black furry blob thrown over his shoulder.

That meant she was being carried by Itachi and it didn't necessarily settle with her well.

"You sons of bitches! What the fuck do you think you're doing?" she screeched. She swore she saw Kisame stumble.

"Shit, she's awake!" he said in alarm.

"You fucking idiots!" she screamed, ignoring his comment. "Put me down right now! I swear I'm going to make you-"

"Shut up!" Kisame shouted at her. "It hasn't even been ten minutes!"

"I'll be damned if I let you just-"

"Itachi-san, shut her up!"

Then there was pain and the world faded again, but she managed to get out one last sentence.

"I hate you."

* * *

><p>"Honestly, is it really that difficult to untie me?"<p>

Based off of the glare that Kisame and Itachi shot her, it was. Her day had been on and off thanks to the two of them. She would wake while they were traveling and, before a word could even leave a mouth, they would knock her out again. And they had learned that whatever substance that was on the cloth didn't work on her. In the end, they would knock her out by suffocating her or hitting her on the back of neck.

She really did have a headache now. But it wasn't enough to keep her from trying to escape. There was a knife in her hands, hidden from their view, silently cutting its way through the ropes that tied her wrists together. Of course, she would have to wait until later to escape with Mingan. The assholes had used a rope to make a muzzle about his jaw and a harness about his body. He looked like a dog! And the rope was biting into his skin, she could already see the raw skin along the edges.

"It's not like I can escape," she continued, "it's a thief against two S-class criminals. Who do you think will win?"

Her complaints were met with silence.

"So what makes you guys so interested in Haka anyways? It's not like her power matches that of a bijuu," Aiyana rambled on. She gave them a second to respond (which they didn't as expected) before continuing. "In fact, from what she tells me, she probably wouldn't be able to beat the one-tailed bijuu. So if you're looking for power then you've got the wrong person. Go find Kyuubi's container or something."

Her comment finally perked Kisame's interest. "We've already found the Kyuubi's container."

"Oh, you have now? Then why are you wasting your time with small fry like me?" Aiyana asked. Finally, she was able to move her wrist. A little bit longer and she would be completely free of those damn ropes.

"Orders," Itachi said shortly.

Kisame, on the other hand, wasn't as interested in her questions. He was amused. "You are the most clueless girl ever."

She was offended. "Clueless? How am I clueless?"

Kisame chuckled and Itachi shot a glare at him before looking at her. His eyes narrowed and seemed to flash red. Shit! She quickly stuffed the knife away, but it was too late. Itachi pulled her up onto her feet and turned her around to see the frayed ropes. Immediately, he began to search her. It didn't take him long to find the knife she had been using to cut the ropes which she had stuffed between her bra and back, her hair covering the unusual lump. Having him reach up her shirt and carefully pull the knife out was a feeling she did not want to repeat. He also managed to find the other knife hidden by her boot along with a set of lock picks. Thankfully, he didn't think to check her hair where she hid a second set of lock picks as hair pins. Of course, with bound hands, they were difficult to reach.

"I want those back," she growled at him as he threw the retrieved items in his own weapon bag. "Along with my katana." He didn't respond and retied the ropes. She seethed in pain when he purposely tightened them until they bit into her skin. "You're enjoying this, aren't you, you damn sadistic bastard?"

Kisame laughed outright at her insult to Itachi. "I think dumb is a better adjective for you."

"Kisame-san, do not provoke her." Itachi actually pulled her closer and forced her to sit down next to him. Apparently, he didn't want another almost escape attempt. Maybe they were running out of rope and couldn't keep replacing her bindings. In that case, she should try to escape more.

"Do you? I'm surprised you're even thinking at all," Aiyana snapped the same moment Itachi issued his warning. It had been ignored by both parties in the argument.

"At least I'm not the one who was working with the Kyuubi's container without even realizing it."

Aiyana opened her mouth to insult him back, but realized what he had said. "What?"

Kisame grinned, revealing all of his canines. "Clueless."

She bristled at the word and knew that he wasn't going to tell her. Her attention turned to the silent man poking at the fire. "Itachi-san, who is Kyuubi's container?"

Again, Gills laughed. "Do you really think he'll tell you?"

"I do, actually," Aiyana replied smartly. "Because of this: Itachi-san, if you tell me, I'll be quiet for the rest of the night."

Itachi looked up at her. For a moment, she thought his sharingan was activated, but it was only the fire reflecting in his eyes. The trade was tempting him, she could tell. He was a man who valued silence and she was a person who destroyed it. "What about tomorrow?"

Aiyana grinned. Hook, line, and sinker. "Tomorrow what?"

"I'll tell you if you promise to be quiet today and tomorrow."

Kisame's mouth dropped open. If she took a deep whiff of the air, she swore she could smell his fish breath. "Gills, shut your mouth. And I can do tomorrow, if you tell me who Kyuubi's container is and loosen Mingan's muzzle. Just a little bit, it's biting into his skin and causing him pain."

Immediately, Itachi stood and did so. Mingan's lips lifted up to reveal his canines, but he couldn't bite the man. It was unfortunate in her opinion. Then he looked at her with dark, serious eyes. "Kyuubi's container is Naruto Uzumaki."

"Wait, what?" Aiyana exclaimed, rather loudly at that.

His eyes narrowed. "You said you'd be quiet."

"I…uh…right, sorry, could you just repeat that name again?"

"You heard him right, girl," Kisame snapped, obviously displeased by his partner's decision to tell her. He had meant to use the information to torture her on the way back. She obviously didn't like not knowing things. "Kyuubi is contained within Naruto Uzumaki's body."


	11. Akatsuki

Cat's Notes

Will officially be moved to the bottom of the page :)

ReadEnjoyReview

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><p>Wolf Thief<p>

Chapter 11: Akatsuki

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><p>It turned out that the only reason Itachi wanted her to be quiet the second day was because they were arriving at Akatsuki that night. After that, she was no longer his business. Truthfully, she found it rather difficult to keep her end of the deal in the beginning, but when Itachi threatened her with a gag, she decided she was better off with her mouth shut.<p>

To her surprise, Itachi was the one who broke the suffocating silence. "We have to blindfold you."

"No, you don't," Aiyana replied automatically. "I'm lost as it is."

Her objection went unheard as he blindfolded her.

"I've already said this isn't necessary," she complained as her world plunged into sightlessness. Her ears perked up, honing themselves to replace her momentarily lost sense. Calloused hands grabbed her forearm and lead her around trees and shrubs. Of course the owner of the hand seemed to decide that roots were not important. Not once did he warn her of about the treacherous tree growths and she continually stumbled and swore.

It continued for at least half an hour until, finally, they stopped.

"What are you up to, Itachi?" she heard Gills ask curiously.

Her bindings were suddenly gone and she immediately brought her hands up to remove the blindfold from her eyes. She didn't get the chance. Itachi swept her off her feet and picked her up bridal style. She screeched and wrapped her arms around his neck, swearing at him all the while.

"We were moving too slow," he said by way of explanation.

"Moving too slow my ass!" she snapped blindly at him.

"Yes, it was your ass in particular that was moving too slow," he responded slyly.

Kisame howled with laughter and she felt her face heat up. Truthfully, she would have never thought that the Uchiha had a sense of humor. Yet, here it was, as broad as day. Before she could conjure up a response, they were moving. Once she was sure Itachi wasn't about to drop her, she found the courage to remove a hand and use it to rid herself of the blindfold.

Aiyana discovered she suffered from motion sickness. The sight of the moving trees and ground made her dizzy and she immediately felt nausea rise up in her throat. Unfortunately, Haka was no help in this case. So, instead, she buried her face into Itachi's shoulder, clutched onto his cloak, and hoped the uncomfortable feeling in her stomach would pass.

It was a while before she heard Kisame say, "Is there something wrong with her? She hasn't complained once since you started carrying her that way. Maybe she likes you, Itachi-kun."

Immediately, she brought up her pale face to glare at him. She opened her mouth to contradict the statement, but instead said something entirely different.

"I'm going to be sick."

Itachi dropped her with no hesitation. As in literally dropped her and her full body hit the ground. Her first mistake was probably getting up immediately after that. Her stomach lurched and she was barely able to hold back the vomit. The world was spinning so fast and the only thing that wasn't moving was her feet. Closing her eyes, she found that her head was still spinning.

"I think I'm going to faint," she muttered.

Then she promptly did so.

* * *

><p>When she awoke, she found she was being carried by Itachi again. Fearing the return of the motion sickness, she screeched, "Put me down!"<p>

Itachi dropped her again. She glared up at him and stood up, examining her surroundings. They were in a large cave. Not too far ahead, she could see an underground river flowing and beyond the river was complete and utter darkness. As far as she could tell, the cave had nothing in it. So what were they up to?

"Can you walk on water?" Itachi inquired.

Aiyana looked at him, confused. Then she realized what he meant. Her eyes swayed to the river. They were probably planning on crossing to the emptiness on the other side. "No, I can't and I can't swim either." Then she grinned. "Guess that means I can't go any further. Well, too bad, so sad for you guys. I'll be off-"

Of course, she wasn't getting away that easily. Itachi grabbed a hold of her and picked her up the same way he had earlier. "I will puke on you this time," she threatened.

He disregarded the threat and followed Kisame along the water of the river. Above a waterfall at least ten feet tall was an opening that the two members jumped through. It was a smart idea, she had to admit. Most would assume there was nothing in the cave just as she had. And thankfully, the trip was short. Along the walls of the tunnel formed by the river was another entrance. The two members took it and they were once again on solid ground.

Itachi put her down gently for once. The tunnel was narrow though not uncomfortably so. She would have been able to walk through it side-by-side with Itachi, but not with Kisame. Not that she wanted to walk side-by-side with the stoic Uchiha. He pushed her forward, taking up the caboose as Kisame took the lead. She felt like a prisoner being lead to her death.

Eventually, the tunnel widened to another large and well-lit cave. At first, she thought it was artificial lighting, but she was quick to discover it was not so. With a glance up, she saw that there was an opening to the cave. Trees were hanging precariously over the ledge and looked as if they were about to take the 1000-foot plunge to the bottom.

"Stop gaping girl," Kisame ordered.

Aiyana shot a glare at him. "Like a fish?" she suggested.

Kisame scowled and refrained from baiting her further. They entered yet another tunnel, this one lit by fluorescent lights. It was wide enough for four men to walk side-by-side without a problem. And along the sides were doors. She felt as if she had just entered an apartment complex, primitive themed.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"To determine what Leader-sama wishes to do with you," Itachi replied.

She didn't like the sound of that in the least.

Itachi was a refined man and he raised his fist to knock on the door. The chance never came since the door swung inwards as Aiyana let herself in.

"What the fuck is your problem?" she demanded.

"Problem?"

The man Itachi had referred to as Leader-sama was obscured in shadow, but his voice sounded rather young.

"Yes, problem!" she snapped hotly. "A problem like kidnapping a perfectly innocent girl!"

If she had looked behind her, she would have seen Itachi struggling to hide his amusement and Kisame his laughter.

"Uchiha-san," Leader said calmly. The girl, just like her father, was not pleased at being disregarded. "Why is she here? I have work to do."

Unlike her father, she didn't know when to stay silent. "Oh no! You are not about to dismiss me like some fly on the wall! Especially since you are the one who apparently ordered my kidnapping! No, you are going to explain exactly why you found that such action would be necessary! Got it, Leader-sama?"

The girl had guts, talking to him in such a disrespectful tone. He stood and walked into the dim lighting. His height and his dark apathetic stare rivaled Itachi's. Despite his eye's odd coloring, which appeared to be violet in the lighting, they were menacing and his abundance of piercing add to the threatening image.

"Did you know that Itachi-san was about the same age as you when he joined Akatsuki?" She remained silent that time, biting her tongue to keep back any snarky responses like _'Itachi-san belongs in this group; he's a psychotic killer like all of you. I'm not.' _But a response like that would bring about some kind of consequences that she didn't want to find out about. "Unlike you, though, he knew manners. Of course, he didn't grow up as a street rat; he actually had parents to teach him about respect for his elders." His violet eyes summed her up. "Perhaps that's exactly what you need."

To his surprise, Aiyana snorted in disbelief. "The last thing a 'street rat' like me needs is a lesson on manners. Perhaps you forget that, in the world of a street rat, the second spent being polite and comely is the second the rat dies."  
>She had a fairly good point, if she did say so herself.<p>

"And not knowing when one should hold their tongue is a sure-fire way of getting it removed," Pain responded calmly yet his eyes flashed violently. They made Aiyana realize the words 'violet' and 'violent' were only one letter apart. "Itachi-san, she will remain with Adrik-san until I decide exactly how to deal with her."

"And what about this?" Kisame asked, shifting the black fur on his shoulder. Pain waited for him to elaborate exactly what it was. "It's her pet dog."

Aiyana was about to correct him but Itachi put a hand on her shoulder as warning to keep her mouth shut. She quickly shrugged it off but held her tongue like he wished.

"Kill it," Pain ordered.

"No!" Aiyana shouted before Itachi had a chance to stop her. "You are not going to harm Mingan in the slightest you evil, disgusting, psychotic bastard!"

Kisame let out a low whistle and made a comment on her vocabulary or lack of. Pain raised a brow at her and Itachi had the makings of a small smirk on his face. Amazingly, it was the Uchiha who came to her rescue. He seemed to enjoy putting her in his debt, she thought sourly.

"Pain-sama, it is my opinion that keeping the dog alive could prove useful," Itachi said calmly. "It is the only leverage on her that we currently have and could be used to keep her in line."

Pain sighed and creased his brow, seeing that the Uchiha had a point. "Very well, take the animal to Konan; she will watch over it. You are dismissed."

Aiyana opened her mouth to object, but Itachi quickly covered it. He pulled her out of the room after Kisame who gave them a quick glance with a grin and went down a hallway she hadn't noticed before.

"Do not cross paths with Pain-sama," Itachi warned. "You may not be expendable, but your tongue is. Now, follow me."

She frowned at him. "Mingan will be alright?"

"Konan-sama has always wanted a pet," he replied.

"So she'll take care of him? Perhaps I should go see her and tell her exact-" Itachi's dark glare that he cast over his shoulder shut her up. Momentarily. In no time, she was pestering him with questions again. "So this Adrik guy, who is he?"

He stopped and turned to look at her. "You don't know." It was a simple statement and she quirked up a brow waiting for him to continue. "Adrik-san is the resident medic." There was a slight hesitation for a moment before he decided to add more. "He is also the reason we know so much about you; he claims to be your father."

Just how many bombshells was this guy going to drop on her? The last shook her to the core so much that Itachi actually had to remind her to breathe. For God's sake, he had to remind her to do a natural process!

Her voice came out small when she found it again. "What?"

"Adrik-san claims to be your father," Itachi repeated calmly.

Now she felt as if she couldn't catch her breath. Itachi seemed to understand that the news was like an earthquake crumbling the very foundation she stood on. For the second time in less than five minutes, he had to remind her to breathe. This time he included short instructions because she seemed to have forgotten how.

"That's why Pain-san was making all those comments," she realized, "and why Kisame-san was so surprised when I didn't know where your information was coming from."

"Aiyana-chan," Itachi said. Was it just her or did his voice hold a hint of concern? "Will you be all right?"

God, she wanted to take her anger out on him. She wanted to yell, scream, and kick and complain about all her personal problems. But it wasn't his fault. So she held her tongue and nodded at him. "I'll be fine. I just…" She looked up at him and he clearly saw she was lying. "I just need a shower."

* * *

><p>Cat's Notes<p>

Somehow I made two weeks turn into a month. Sorry about that. :) But I got you guys your chapter up! And she finally found out that her father is alive! Man that only took eleven chapters and they still haven't met yet. Well, it's only a matter of time. And there seems to be a slight growing fondness for Aiyana on Itachi's side ;) Mwhaha.

Also, Aiyana's motion sickness is a draw back of her wolf-like ears. Motion sickness is caused by an imbalance of the fluids in the ears (and Aiyana's got bigger ears than most others) and can cause vomit, vertigo, and, in severe cases, loss of consciousness. Those who own puppies know that some of the first car rides can make them sick. That's basically what it was for Aiyana; she had never been carried that way before (at least, not that she can remember) so it was simply her body reacting to the movement without actually moving.

Thanks for reading and sorry about taking so long ;) I'll be back to weekly updates now.


	12. Frienemy

Wolf Thief

Chapter 12: Frienemy

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><p>It was a sign of his remaining kindness that he actually let her take a shower instead of marching her into the grasps of her "father". Of course, it meant she owed him (more than she already did), but for once in her life she didn't mind the debt. The shower gave her time to think. And the more she thought the more she realized that this Adrik man was a clear 'father' possibility. Based off her memories, the nightmares more like it, her mother had repeatedly called out the name Adrik.<p>

And claimed he joined a group of sorts.

That had intentions of harming her.

It sounded oddly similar to Akatsuki.

_ "Haka?"_

The spirit inside her had fallen silent. There would be no rousing her, Aiyana thought with a sigh. She was on her own at a time when she desperately wanted a friend.

When she finally stepped out of the shower, she found that Itachi had made himself tea and comfortable. He sat in an armchair, reading what appeared to be a newspaper with an air that completely lacked concern for the world. It almost made him seem normal. She'd mistake him as such if it wasn't for the fact that she knew his history. On the table was a second tea cup, intended for her. She approached cautiously; thinking that at any moment the Uchiha may spring on her, gag her, and drag her to her "father".

Yet he didn't even look up until she was hovering near the table, staring at the tea cup with obvious distrust.

"Aiyana-chan, you may sit."

Aiyana looked at him, suspicious. "Why do you feel the sudden urge to be kind to me? Just this morning you were ready to hand me over to your leader just to be rid of me."

Itachi blinked and looked back down at his cup. "I did not know that he would you put you under Adrik's care." She crossed her arms clearly thinking that his explanation was much too vague. He sighed. "I don't know much about absent fathers. But I do know about men like Adrik-san and I do know that those men were never meant to be fathers. I don't think that putting his long lost daughter in his hands will do anyone much good."

"I still don't understand what this has to do with you, Itachi-san," Aiyana said carefully. "Whatever happens to me after this will have nothing to do with you."

"You are wrong. I don't know why Leader-sama wishes to control you and your demon, but I do know its important. If something happens to you then it will affect the whole organization."

"And whatever affects the organization affects you," Aiyana concluded taking a seat and picking up the cup.

She must have never learned how to drink tea or had simply forgotten what was in the cup because she took one gulp of it. The hot tea immediately burned her tongue yet she calmly put down the tea cup and covered her mouth with her arm. Itachi realized that she was still wearing the same clothes even after her shower. Slowly he stood and pulled her bag out from behind the chair, handing it to her.

Keeping her arm to her mouth, she grabbed her bag and disappeared into the bathroom. The first thing he heard was the faucet turning on then some grumble about the evils of tea and men. It was quiet for a moment and she remerged in clean clothing. This time she completely disregarded the tea sitting on the table in front of her.

They sat in silence with Aiyana fidgeting every other second. Itachi did his best to ignore her and read his paper, but it's difficult for a man who was so used to a lonely room to ignore a woman. Finally he folded the paper and stared at her. In a way, she was like a bug trapped in a jar, unable to escape and stuck under his scrutinizing eyes. This caused her to become even more uncomfortable.

"You want to meet him." Her face flushed considerably and cast her eyes downwards. For a cave, the floors were impeccably clean. Her hands reached forward and took the cup into possession. Looking at the brown liquid was better than looking at the floor. Of course, Itachi could read her thoughts either way. "You will have to eventually. I cannot keep you locked in here; I leave the day after tomorrow."

"Where to?" she asked. It was a ploy to change subjects and he knew it.

"Aiyana-chan, I think it unwise for you to hide from this."

"You sound like an old sage or something, Itachi-san. It's kind of creepy." He ignored the comment and watched as she stirred the tea with her finger before taking a sip. "Why did you do it?"

"Do what?" he asked.

"Leave Sasuke alive?"

Her blue eyes looked at him expectantly and he found that he couldn't think of a suitable answer. It was the first time he had encountered that question. It was like a suddenly avalanche had closed off his only exit; he was trapped. His tongue seemed unable to move, to produce words. So he simply gave her a cold, hard stare back and hoped she would back off the question. Yet he should have known better, she was as stubborn as a mule if not more.

"Well? Did you not think he was worth killing? Could you simply not do it? Did you-"

"Aiyana," Itachi said abruptly.

Her mouth clamped shut at the sight of his red eyes. Well, it opened once more to utter one word, "sorry."

The young girl actually looked apologetic as well. Itachi sighed and finished off his tea. It wouldn't take too long before she began to talk again. Yet her last outburst had left him on edge. It left her thinking as well, he could tell by the pensive look that now occupied her face. She wanted to know why and the fact that he denied an answer made it all the more mysterious. The Itachi sitting in front of her didn't seem like a man who could easily slaughter his family. He let her escape, _twice; _he kept Mingan alive; and now he was offering to let her stay in his room while she sorted out her thoughts. Considering all this, she didn't know who the Itachi sitting in front of her was at all.

Enough time passed for him to go through a second cup of tea. Her mind shifted through everything that had happened over the past month. She thought most on the occasions she had met Itachi and then her mind thought over the events that had led to her ending up on a couch in front of the Uchiha. The thought process once again brought up the war she had been fighting with herself since her first mission with Konoha. Her eyes darted up to Itachi. The wise old/young man.

"Itachi-san, if you had to choose would you prefer to be a thief or a ninja?"

He blinked. "Why?"

"Just pick one."

"I've never been a thief, so I can't make a decision."

She slipped back into silence before a sudden light appeared in her eyes. "Itachi-san, who do you hate most in this organization?" The Uchiha raised a brow and remained silent as an answer. She got the hint. "Oh, well, who would you kill first if you ever got the chance?" Again, he remained silent. "Damnit, who do you dislike?"

Finally, it looked like she had asked the question in such a way that deserved an answer. He leaned back and after a moment of thought said, "Tobi."

"Tobi?" she repeated.

"Zetsu's accomplice in a sense," the young man elaborated.

"Great, do you know where he is?"

Itachi shrugged. "With Zetsu, I suppose," then, knowing the question that was about to leave her lips, hurriedly added, "And no one is really ever sure where Zetsu is."

Aiyana thought this over before looking at him. "Do you know where he keeps his things?"

Being a prodigy and all, Itachi caught onto her wind pretty damn quick. He frowned at her, yet it was curiosity that kept his answer truthful. "Yes, I know. Aiyana-chan, it would not be wise-"

"Think of a reason why you would be near his things. Anything that isn't too flimsy or he'll get suspicious and suspicion is what gets thieves in trouble. Suspicion leads to investigation. Get what I'm saying?" The young man nodded. "I'm going to assume you know how to pick locks. So, come on, let's go." She got up and tugged on his hand, pulling him out of his rather comfortable chair.

There was a part of him that was wondering why he was going along with her scheme. Of course, part of him knew it was simply because he wanted to spite the other Akatsuki member and she was giving him an opportunity to do so. Even if the opportunity was miniscule to what has been done to him. So he calmly led her down the deserted hall to a door. To his surprise, she produced a pair of gloves, seemingly from nowhere and passed one to him.

"Just in case your cloaked friend knows fingerprinting or something," Aiyana explained. "It's a precaution every paranoid thief makes. Try the door."

Itachi slipped on the glove partially. It wouldn't go on all the way since his hands were larger than hers. Then he tried the door. Locked, as expected, so Aiyana passed him a set of lock picks which also came out of nowhere. In fact, he was sure he had confiscated her lock picks so he was rather confused as to where they came from. She caught the question in his eyes.

"A good thief _always _carries more than one set."

He nodded and went to work on the lock. It had been a long while since he had to utilize the skill and found that it was rather difficult and frustrating. His momentary instructor watched him attempt the feat with a bemused smile on her face. Finally, she spoke up.

"When was the last time you did this, Itachi-san?"

"When I was twelve," he answered honestly.

She giggled into her hand before kneeling down to see what he was doing wrong. "Here, the bottom one is called a tension wrench and you shouldn't move it. Moving it sets all the cylinders back into place, then you'd have to start all over again."

He stared at her with an unusual expression. Then she heard the dreaded sound of footsteps. Itachi was still unaware of the sound, attempting to do what she had instructed. Without warning, Aiyana took the picks from his hand and had the door open within twenty seconds. She tugged him inside and shut it behind them. It was only a few seconds later he heard the sound of passing footsteps and gave her yet another unusual look.

"Well, we're in. You'll have to practice that lock picking though." Itachi nodded though she couldn't see it. The room was pitch black and he took a moment to find the lamp that sat on a nearby, cluttered desk. "Take your pick of whatever you want."

"Aiyana-chan," Itachi said carefully. "Is this normal?"

"Is what normal?"

"This spontaneous stealing."

She laughed a fairly amused one that actually made her double over. "Fuck no. It's shit like this that gets thieves in trouble. One careless little theft for revenge or something like that often leads to a careless mistake that leads back to the thief. And once that thief is found, it leads to many other discoveries of the thief's escapades. Next thing you know, the thief is locked up or dead, depending on the country they're in."

"Then why-?"

"Because you said that you've never been a thief. Now you have."

Itachi was surprised at her simplistic view of the entire adventure. Picking up a book from the desk, he glanced over it and determined, by the little bent pages and the bookmark still tucked away, that Tobi would be rather peeved if the book suddenly disappeared. He tucked it away into his cloak and turned to face the real thief. She had knelt down and pressed her ear to the door. Satisfied that no one was out in the hallway, she pushed open the door, locked it from the inside and then slipped out. Itachi followed and the door shut.

There was a certain thrill to his successful heist that Itachi couldn't determine if he liked or not. The theft was similar to a druggie on his high. There was a surge of complete satisfaction and gratification, and then, gone. The feeling was gone and needed to be replaced. It explained why thieves continually stole without end, and their thefts became grander with each one. They were like a druggie trying to achieve a high. He liked the high but knew he should not get caught up in it. It was a dangerous pastime.

The high immediately dissipated when he spotted a familiar dark-haired man approaching. Aiyana was humming beside him, completely unaware who they were about to cross paths with. The humming stopped when the man stopped beside them, eyeing her with surprise and amusement. Then those malicious dark blue eyes were on him.

"When were you planning on telling me, Uchiha-san?"

"Adrik-san."

Aiyana stiffened at the name. Her eyes scanned over the man Itachi had said was her father and felt her heart flutter when she saw several incriminating similarities between them. The most striking and obvious was his blue eyes, the same shade and shape as hers. Her hair was her mother's black shade, yet consisted of his curly genes. Her throat was clenching, unable to swallow. This man was her father; she knew it.

"_It's unfortunate that half of you came from him," _Haka muttered; her voice sounded a bit drowsy. _"I told Kaiya he was trouble, but she never liked listening to me." _Aiyana was too distressed to even come up with a witty response. _"Don't worry, Ai-chan, I'll watch out for you."_

"Well, Itachi-san?"

"He was just taking me to you," Aiyana blurted out.

If Itachi was shocked by her announcement, he certainly had a way of hiding it. His face remained as stoic as ever and when Adrik looked at him for reassurance he couldn't even be bothered to use his lips to form a word. He used them to form a simple noise instead, not one of agreement or disagreement, simply, "hn."

"I see the two of you have been getting along rather well," Adrik commented dryly.

Attempting to make it seem perfectly normal, Aiyana took a small side step away from the Uchiha. Adrik raised a brow at the movement and she flushed knowing she had been caught. Glancing at the silent Uchiha she realized that he wasn't going to say anything then his little 'hn' noise. It was up to her to come up with the excuse of their companionship.

"It's good to have a friend in enemy territory."

The older man laughed and looked between the two of them. "A good tactic, but perhaps you should pick someone who actually uses their mouth to talk." Itachi's eyes narrowed in the slightest, but he still refused to say anything. "Take her to my room, Uchiha-san. I'll be there shortly."

Adrik walked away without waiting for Itachi to agree. Aiyana looked over her shoulder and watched his broad back in the slightest bit of awe. He was the man whom she could call _father_. So far he didn't seem too bad, yet Itachi had a dark view of him. Fingers wrapped around her wrist and pulled her out of her thoughts and alongside their owner.

"Let's get your things first."

Aiyana nodded and, in silence, they picked up her bag from his room (Itachi also returned her lock picks and katana). Then they ventured to Adrik's room. It was yet another wooden door poorly fitted to its stone frame. Aiyana placed a hand on the handle and hesitated before looking up at the Uchiha.

"Thanks," she said with her eyes down cast and obviously a bit ashamed of the word.

Itachi nodded and turned to leave. Aiyana returned to glaring at the door handle. "Aiyana-chan." Her head jerked up and she saw him looking over her shoulder at her. "I am not your friend."

A smirk touched her lips. "Of course not. Why would I befriend a man who has a tendency to kill his friends?" Itachi was thrown off by her sudden haughty attitude and smirk. "Oh, and, by the way, I don't owe you anything. Helping you steal that book was my way of repaying you." He nodded and turned to leave again. "Oh, one more thing! I want an answer to my question!"

Itachi touched the stolen book that he had tucked away in thought. A slow smile spread across his lips. "I believe you are better suited for the life of a thief."

Aiyana started then gritted her teeth in annoyance. "That's not an answer!"

"No," Itachi replied looking over his shoulder, "it is what you really wanted to know."

* * *

><p>Cat's Notes<p>

Eh, sorry about the extra week. I had a bit of writer's block. And now I'm posting as a means of procastination. Exam week is coming. Four exams in the span of 3 days! Woot! I am so dead.

Anyways, I liked this chapter. I felt like it put a bit more of characterization (that may have bordered on out-of-character, but I think I did pretty all right) on Itachi and his relationship with other Akatsuki members-in particular Tobi ;) I'm not really sure if Tobi really was Zetsu's accomplice or not before becoming a member but we'll pretend he was! And it's obvious that Itachi knows exactly who Tobi is; Aiyana does not. And she won't find out...like ever...

And Aiyana has finally met her absent father! Wonder how that's gonna go. Plus she's seriously beginning to wonder about Itachi. Developing relationship, ne? You'll hate me in ten chapters if you like what's happening now.


	13. Food and Faces

Wolf Thief

Chapter 13: Food and Faces

* * *

><p>Aiyana cursed him out when she was in the safety of four walls. "God damn him, that stupid know-it-all bast…ard…" Her words dropped out of her mouth as she got her first glimpse of the room. No, room was the wrong word. Laboratory was more like it.<p>

Desks of different heights and lengths were set adjacent to each other so they could hold an odd collection of flasks and beakers, microscopes, slides, and the likes. A bed was stuffed in the far corner, perfectly made and probably untouched for weeks. Carefully, as if she feared the beakers of colorfully fluids would explode at any given moment, she approached the tables to examine the contents.

Curious, she tapped a beaker that contained some form a slick liquid. There was no explosion so she picked it up, tilting it this way and that. The substances moved like oil, then she spotted the tag on the bottom. _Wolf's Blood-2 weeks. _The beaker almost slipped from her hands, but breaking it would make a worst mess than holding it. Hastily she placed it back on the table and moved away.

She backed into the chair and stumbled. Luckily she caught herself before she fell and spotted a pile of disorganized papers on the table. Notes, a scientist's notes. Immediately, she began to riffle through them, searching for something readable. Adrik had horrendous handwriting, scrawny and half-rushed with the letters and words ramming into each other.

Finally she found something labeled from a month ago. Her eyes squinted as she attempted to read the letter in the dim lighting.

_It appears as if my daughter has finally made it onto Akatsuki's wanted list. Pain has ordered Itachi and Kisame to retrieve her. I've begun to wonder what she will be like. I've kept track of her over the years and heard of her escapades as a thief, yet none about her. Judging from photos I can certainly say she received Kaiya's fine appearance, but I hope she did not receive Kaiya's foolishly optimistic personality. I remember days when I simply wanted to strangle the woman and be rid of the oblivious, sun-sweet smile of hers. It was a blessing when I finally achieved my goal of making her pregnant. Then I was safe to leave. Though I know Aiyana lived under Kaiya's influence for ten years, she's still in her learning period. Perhaps I can influence her more than-_

Footsteps down the hall again. Aiyana hastily placed the paper back, her mind boiling over what she had discovered. Itachi had been right. Adrik was nothing more than a cruel bastard who wanted the world to know his name. Aiyana was a means to that, as it appeared. Well, if he didn't want his daughter to be like Kaiya, that's exactly who she'll be. The door open and Aiyana made herself comfortable in the chair.

Adrik's eyes flickered to her and he walked up, slamming the things that he had picked up onto the table. It was a pile of papers along with a few vials. "Move!" he snapped. Startled, Aiyana jumped out of the chair. Mumbling, he took a seat and began to go through the new stack. After a moment, he looked up at her. "What is it?"

Feeble, Kaiya was feeble. Her mother never had the same strong personality she did. Aiyana looked down. "It-It's nothing." Adrik leaned back, irritated all ready. His eyes looked at her with a bit of disgust. "Actually…Itachi-san told me that you were my father. Is that true?"

Adrik huffed. "That Uchiha. He is too weak minded to be in an organization like this." Aiyana narrowed her eyes at the ground. Weak-minded? Itachi? That was certainly a new perspective. "Yes, girl, I'm your father. Now, it's late, shouldn't you be sleeping?"

It hurt her, hearing the words leave that bastard's mouth. He hadn't even bothered to use her name when he confirmed the news. No name, no smile, just a hard and cold look and a masked order to get out of his way. She kept up the weak display; seeing how it got under his skin by the way he tapped his finger and tensed his muscles with every word.

"Yes, I am tired," Aiyana admitted, "where can I sleep?"

"Take the bed; I won't be using it tonight."

_I doubt you ever use it, _Aiyana thought as she forced the words "thank you" out in a polite tone. Turning her back on him, she lay down on the bed and threw the covers over her head. They smelled like an odd mix of chemicals and _him. _ It was hours before she actually fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Adrik wasn't in the room when she woke the next morning. Aiyana stretched and let the blanket slip off before pulling it back on. The damn room was freezing. Wrapping the blanket around her shoulders, she slipped out of the bed and put on her shoes. Keeping the blanket tight around her shoulders she peeked her head out of the door. The hall was empty.<p>

Leaving the blanket at the door, Aiyana followed her stomach in an attempt to find the kitchen or, at least, something that contained food. The hallways confused her and she eventually found herself simply lost. Turning around another corner, she found herself in a familiar fluorescently lit hallway that ended with a rushing, underground river.

She walked to the end of it, glaring at the water. If it wasn't for that foul substance, she would be able to escape. Her stomach growled and the noise echoed angrily around the tunnel. Turning on her heel, she continued her venture to find the kitchen, all the while trying to memorize the location of the water. She passed through the large cave with the opening and found herself at a crossroads.

There was noise coming from her left side, so she followed it.

"Kakuzu! I swear, every time I come back there is no food!"

The word food got her running. She skidded to a halt in front of another doorway, this one lacking one of those poorly fitted wooden doors, which opened up into a kitchen and sitting room. Inside she saw a group of three ninjas, none of whom were familiar. They all stared at her for a moment.

"Who the fuck are you?"

Aiyana looked at the man who just asked her. He was shirtless, white hair slicked back and brows knitted together in obvious anger. She ignored his anger. "Hungry. Is there really no food?"

"Of course not," the blond amongst the group spat out, "Kakuzu-senpai is too cheap to buy food cause he thinks we should find a way to feed ourselves if we're that hungry, yeah!"

"It's a waste of our funds to feed your loud mouth, Deidara-san," the man in question said calmly in return. "Just who are you?"

Aiyana's stomach growled and she gripped it, sighing mournfully at the thought that she'll be starved even further. "I am hungry," she repeated before making her way to the fridge.

"Don't even bother, there's nothing in there, un," the blond muttered grumpily. The fridge was empty of all solid and edible food. There was some moldy cheese tucked away, but even she wasn't hungry enough to try it. Spoiled milk and beer were the only drinks other than tap water. Another mournful sigh abandoned her lips and she began to check through cabinets. "Didn't you hear me, girl. Kakuzu is starving us to death!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Kakuzu objected.

"Then why isn't there food?" Aiyana asked, turning her pleading eyes towards him. For some reason all three men shut their mouths and stared back at her.

Finally, the one whose name still hadn't been revealed managed to find his tongue. "Damn it, bitch, I don't fucking know, ask Kakuzu!"

"Hidan, don't you try to pin this on me!" Kakuzu snapped back. His eyes, the only real visible part on him looked back at her. "Just who are you? And hungry is not an answer!"

"Aiyana Shijo," she said, going through the cabinets again. Hunger was crawling at her insides, trying to eat her from the inside out and she needed something to sate him.

"Ha! So Pain-sama is picking up whores now!"

Hidan easily avoided the solid clay cup that she tossed at him. It shattered against the wall and Deidara made a bit of a choking sound. She ignored him. "Whore? Don't be a dumbass! I am The Wolf Thief, not some wench you pick off of the streets!"

"Damn bitch!" Hidan snapped at her but was interrupted by his partner.

"The Wolf Thief?" Kakuzu repeated eyeing her as a butcher would a fresh piece of meat. "You're worth quite a bit in the Grass country. I heard you stole something quite valuable from them. What are you doing in our base?"

Aiyana shrugged, her stomach continuing to grumble in demand. When was the last time she had something sustainable to eat? "Ask that stupid-ass leader of yours, not me."

"I told you, she's just another whore."

Aiyana threw a plate this time, and it managed to skim his cheek. The touch snapped whatever thin thread that was holding his anger in place. Curling his fingers into fists he looked about ready to punch the girl; she looked about ready to punch back. Her hunger was pushing her into a foul mood. Then she spotted a new figure entering the kitchen. The poor bastard arrived at the wrong moment and she was going to take advantage of it.

"Itachi-san!"

Itachi felt her collide with him and started. This was beyond unusual. And, judging by everyone else's face, they had no idea how to react other than complete and utter surprise. "Aiyana-chan? What are you doing out?"

"Hungry," she said softly, her fingers clutching his cloak. "Please tell me you have food."

Itachi immediately looked at Kakuzu who sighed. "Fine, Uchiha-san! I'll go to the market now and get a reasonable amount of food."

Deidara grinned at the Uchiha before looking at Kakuzu. "Don't forget onigiri."

"I'm not your slave!" Kakuzu yelled at him. "Is there anything you want, Hidan?"

"But you're Hidan's?" Deidara taunted. It immediately received a hit on the head from both men that left the blond in a grumbling pile on the ground as the two left the kitchen entirely. Rubbing his head, he looked up to see the new girl smiling down at him and extending a hand. "Hn. There's nothing in there Itachi-senpai," he grumbled when Itachi went to check the fridge.

Itachi stopped and glanced at Deidara before looking at a miserable Aiyana help the blond up. "It's not my job to feed you," he commented lightly.

Aiyana suddenly grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him so close that their faces were mere inches apart. "One onigiri isn't going to satisfy a person for two days!" she snapped angrily before releasing him. That was when her last meal was. Yesterday morning, Itachi had given her an onigiri before finishing their journey to the Akatsuki base. Suddenly, she rested her head against his shoulder. "I'm _so _hungry. Won't you feed me?"

Her eyes looked upwards and she saw the young man was actually blushing. Deidara burst out into a fit of laughter at the Uchiha's face. He tried to form a coherent sentence, but failed. Itachi seemed flustered and quickly moved away from the girl. "Aiyana-chan, just wait for Hidan-san and Kakuzu-san to return." He disappeared without Aiyana ever really seeing his expression.

It was a few minutes later when a new person entered the room. Deidara finally finished his laughing fit and stared up at the ceiling until he heard the voice.

"Oh, are you Aiyana-chan?"

"Konan-senpai!" Deidara exclaimed jumping to his feet. Typically Konan was followed by Pain and Pain would not be pleased at the sight of one of his members on the floor.

Aiyana started at the name and then stared at the woman. "You're Konan? Are you the one taking care of Mingan?"

"You mean the wolf?" Konan asked hesitantly. Deidara had gotten up and dusted himself off. "Yes, I am."

"Can I see him? Please?"

Konan hesitated before looking into Aiyana's pleading eyes. Then the girl's stomach growled breaking the momentary intimate connection. Konan sighed. "Pain said I was not allowed to let you near him." Aiyana felt her hope flatten. "But if it just happens that I invite you to lunch and he just happens to be in the same room, I don't see a problem."

Aiyana smiled, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "Oh, thank you so much!"

"By the way, Deidara-kun, what happened to Itachi-san? His face was red when I passed by him."

Deidara fell into another fit of laughter and was unable to respond.

* * *

><p>Cat's Notes<p>

Sooo I wasn't the one who died; my laptop did. I just got all the information transferred from my old piece of shit laptop to my new one the other day. Which means I got back my stories, and my 10000 photos and my 4000 songs! YEAH! By the way, NEVER get a gateway laptop if you want a laptop that will last for more than 2 years.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed Aiyana's game of deception as she attempts to make 'a friend in enemy territory'. I kind of feel sorry for Itachi. Tune in sometime next week for the continuation of her ruse!


	14. Plots

Wolf Thief

Chapter 14: Plots

The food Konan gave her was enough to keep her satisfied until Hidan and Kakuzu arrived with more. Mingan rested his head on her leg, revealing in her ear rub as she discussed small things such as the weather and the fact that the caves were freezing with Konan. To Aiyana, it seemed as if the woman simply wanted another someone else to talk to.

"Konan-senpai, are you the only woman in Akatsuki?" Aiyana asked.

"Yes, though Hidan sometimes jokes that Deidara is a girl as well." Deidara was the blond she had a met in the kitchen. Now that she thought about it, if she saw Deidara from a distance, she would think the man was girl. "Have you met everyone in Akatsuki yet?"

"How many are there?"

"Nine."

Aiyana momentarily stopped her ear rub to use her fingers to count. "Well, let's see." Itachi and Kisame were the ones who kidnapped her. There was Pain, often referred to as Leader-sama. Konan, Hidan, Kakuzu, and Deidara she had met that morning. "Um, Adrik and that man Tobi aren't really members, are they?"

"How did you hear about them?" Konan asked, surprised. Since Aiyana had stopped giving him an ear rub, Mingan had switched to the other girl and was happily receiving a scratch under his snout. "And, no, they aren't members."

"Uh, Itachi-san momentarily mentioned a man named Tobi who works with Zetsu." Her fingers dropped down to her lap. "And Adrik is, well, he is…" Why was it so difficult for her to say the damn word? Her tongue felt like it sudden thickened and refused to make the sounds that made the word.

"Oh, that's right! Pain told me that Adrik is your father."

"Yeah, apparently he is," Aiyana agreed, relieved she didn't have to admit it herself. "In any case, I've met everyone but two."

The conversation easily shifted from her father to the other Akatsuki members. The only members she had left to meet were Zetsu, whom according to Konan she should try to avoid meeting, and Sasori, Deidara's partner. Through Konan, Aiyana figured out exactly how Akatsuki functioned. There were pairs that did field work with the exception of Zetsu. Apparently he was cannibalistic and most anyone who was partnered with him died.

Then there were the subordinates such as Adrik and Tobi. Adrik turned out to be Sasori's subordinate and most of his time was spent at the base, mixing concoctions. Tobi worked under Zetsu and the only reason Zetsu claimed not to want to eat him was because Tobi was too stupid. He might be infected with the stupidity if he ate the man. Pain acted as the director and could be seen in the cave systems or rainy Amegakure.

It was their goal that surprised Aiyana the most. The ultimate peace through a united world and to achieve that ultimate peace they would use the strength of the bijuus. Aiyana kept her skeptical opinions to herself and wondered how many members were on board because of the organizations goal or because of the war it would bring. The latter reason probably had more supporters.

Sighing, Aiyana switched the topic to Mingan and his care. Konan was given exact instructions on how to care for him and she found amusement in the woman's eyes. Mingan seemed calm in Konan's presence, so perhaps she wasn't as bad as some of the other people around. At least they could hold a conversation without lapsing into an awkward silence or threatening each other. After the instructions, Aiyana decided it was time to check the kitchen again.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Aiyana asked hesitantly as she untangled her fingers from Mingan's fur.

Konan smiled at her before nodding. "Of course."

The thief sighed in relief, said one final good bye to the large canine and slipped through the door. The cave system was less confusing now that she had accidently stumbled through half the paths, so she only found herself making a wrong turn once. Of course, that wrong turn found her bumping into a very bizarre looking pair.

One was large and bulky, the high collar of the Akatsuki cloak unable to hide the strange cage-like leaf structure that encased his head, which stranger yet was evenly divided between black and white. The person beside him was lacking an Akatsuki cloak, but wore all black with the exception of his orange and black swirled mask.

She wasn't planning on talking to them, but the man with the mask was insistent on talking with her. "Oi!" The greeting was rather long and drawn out, grating on her sensitive ears. His voice was also obnoxiously perky. "Who are you? Are you that thief everyone keeps talking about?"

"I suppose," Aiyana muttered trying to walk past them. "Look, I'm just trying to find the kitchen. So, if you don't mind, then I'll just be on my way."

She tried to walk around them but the masked guy stuck out his arm, blocking her path. "Don't be silly! The kitchen isn't that way! Here, Tobi will take you there!" Tobi? Aiyana stared at the man and could tell by his voice that he was rather flamboyant and, well, young. Plus, he referred to himself in the third person. That was just plain unusual. "Tobi will be back, Master Zetsu!"

Zetsu didn't say anything and walked down the path she came while Tobi eagerly dragged her up to the fork and took her in the other direction. Aiyana yanked her arm out of his grasp. "Uh, I think I can find it from here. Thanks, Tobi."

Of course, Tobi didn't get the hint that she wanted him gone. "Did Master Zetsu scare you?"

The question was so sudden and spontaneous that she wasn't quite sure how to respond. When the hell did she mention that she was scared of that unusual man? She was more scared of the slightly hyper-active mask-wearing man who had intertwined his arm with hers and was happily dragging her down the hall.

"It's okay! Master Zetsu scares a lot of people, but he is really nice. At least to me, he's really nice! You don't have to worry about him. Hey, hey, are you really a famous thief? Do you think you can teach me a few tricks? I think it would be useful to know how to steal things! Speaking of stealing things, one of my books has gone missing." Tobi swung her around and grabber her shoulder, looking her in the eye with his one barely visible one. His voice became lower, serious, and normal. "You didn't steal it, did you, Ai-chan?"

Aiyana stared at him, shocked enough that her mouth had gone dry. What was this man? Was he bipolar or on drugs or something? Before she had a chance to deny his claim, he burst out laughing in an unusually high pitch and patted her shoulder. "I was just kidding! Ai-chan would _never _steal from Tobi, now, would she?"

"My name is Aiyana," she said stiffly, her mind running in circles. Something was wrong with this man. Something was very, very wrong with him and she had no idea what. "And I didn't steal your book. I doubt you even have the capacity to read."

"Ai-chan is a funny girl!" Tobi chirped, rustling even more of her feathers as he grabbed her hand and pulled her down the hallway. "Why is Ai-chan at Akatsuki? Did she steal something from us?"

Aiyana froze and Tobi tugged her hand and turned when he felt that she was resistant to the movement. She had, in fact, stolen something from Akatsuki; it was how they found her in the first place. And maybe that one object could answer everything for her. If she could get Pain-sama to agree to let her steal the scroll back, then maybe, just maybe, she could use the opportunity to escape or bargain or anything! She just wanted out!

"Ai-chan?" Tobi waved a hand in front of her face, whistling like a canary. She blinked and shook her head of her absurd thoughts. They sprung back into her head like they were attached to a bungee cord. "Oh good! I thought you had turned into stone! Come on, let's get you to the kitchen."

"Kitchen, right," she muttered and followed him.

Of course, the kitchen didn't pose any relief for her working mind. It was fully stocked now by Kakuzu and Hidan, who had disappeared off the face of the earth. And exploiting the newly stock kitchen was a hermit who had crawled out of his shell. Adrik gave her a blank stare as she wandered into the room with Tobi as an extra, unwanted appendage.

"_Stay." _

Haka's order was sharp in her mind, commanding like an owner would command their unruly dog. Aiyana grimaced but reigned in the desire to turn and leave. Instead, she looked up at Tobi, smiling with a lack of light in her eyes. "Thanks for showing me the way, Tobi-chan."

To her surprise, Tobi saluted, nodded, and marched out of the kitchen without saying another word. Curious as to why he was marching, she stuck her head out of the natural doorway but saw that he had vanished entirely. Well, that was certainly something unusual.

"You should be careful around him; he's not exactly stable."

Aiyana whirled around to see that Adrik was watching her carefully. She didn't want to admit that she agreed with his observation, so instead she shrugged. "He seems nice, strange though." Her eyes wandered past him to the counter where a bag of oranges lay. Without hesitation she found a knife and cut into it, grabbing an orange for herself. "May I ask why I'm being allowed to wander around the base so freely?"

"Uchiha-san has informed us that you are unable to walk on water or swim, therefore, unless you can fly like Deidara-san, you have no escape." Adrik smiled cruelly at her. "You can't fly, can you?"

She glared at him, her finger digging too far past the peel of the orange and spraying juice on the ground. "Don't be ridiculous," she growled. It was the first time she showed her true personality to that bastard and he smiled as if he had known all along it was a joke. "How long do you plan on keeping me here?"

"Until the other two pieces are collected."

She raised a brow as her orange was slowly mutilated, soaking her hand in sticky juice. "Other two pieces?"

"The Kyuubi and the scroll," Adrik added absently before pushing himself off the counter. "You'll be sleeping in my room until then. Keep your hands off my things; I don't care if you do place them back in the same place, simply do not touch them."

The orange was such a mess that she didn't feel like eating it anymore. That bastard was acting like an eight-year boy! He was being over-possessive about vials of goop! Only a child acted like that when their favorite toy was touched by another, scream and crying and whining as if the world had collapsed on them. That half-assed, make believe scientist of nothing; she hoped one of his experiments would explode on him! Before she escaped, she'd find a way to subtly destroy his experiments; maybe mixing chemicals would do. Or switching the labels of the beakers around. Yes, that would probably be successful. Successful and extremely petty. And here she was calling Adrik a child.

The rest of her day was spent trying to come up with two different plans: one for escape and one for revenge.

* * *

><p>Cat's Notes<p>

I actually don't have much to say for this chapter. Adrik is a jerk...and Tobi does play a role in this story, as you can guess. Oh, Konan telling Aiyana about Akatsuki's goals! I figured that in Konan's mind Akatsuki's goals are noble; they're trying to create world peace in their twisted way, after all. So she doesn't mind telling others if she thinks it can convince them to support their organization. Plus Aiyana isn't supposed to be going anywhere.

I think that's it.

:) Till next week!


	15. Escape Attempt I

Wolf Thief

Chapter 15: Escape Attempt 1

Aiyana met the man of her dreams the next morning in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Deidara-san," she greeted as she poured herself a glass of milk.

Deidara glanced at her and took in her radiant smile, cheerful blue eyes, and barely contained bed hair underneath a bandana. "You're awfully chipper today, thief," he commented dryly as he went back to his pancakes.

Ah, so Deidara wasn't much of a morning person, was he? Well, Aiyana believed she could change that. For her sake, she hoped she could change it. "I hear from Konan-san that you consider yourself an artist."

"Consider myself?" Deidara said distastefully. "I _am _an artist, yeah." He stabbed his flapjack viciously, grumbling about his underappreciated artwork. Then his eyes snapped up to meet hers. "Hey, thief, what do you think of art?"

She blinked as if taken unaware by the question. Then, to buy more time, she gulped down her milk and let out a content sigh. "Art? Well, I'm a thief, my goal is to steal what others think is beautiful and what they'll pay for. I go by their definition of art which changes by person." She shrugged. "The most common interpretation of art I see in my career is hideous paintings, vases, and such or well carved out jewels."

Deidara chuckled before leaning forward. "What's _your_ definition of art, un?"

"Mine?" Aiyana hesitated, pouring another glass of milk as she thought. "My definition of art, huh?" Her eyes looked at him blankly as she thought it out; she had never once thought about art or what she should think about _art. _All she knew was what she thought was beautiful and what she thought wasn't.

"Did you know I started out as a jewel thief? My days were spent plotting out my next theft, filled with anticipation as I gridded out every possible move. There was always that thrill, when I broke in, when I remained as the shadow never knowing if I would walk into someone or not. I love that feeling; it keeps the game exhilarating, never a dull moment. But the best moment was when I managed to get a hold of my goal. A perfectly carved stone, light and heavy at the same time, worth enough to feed an average family for ten years. If you held it up to the light, the stones would glow like the sun itself. I had the sun in my hand, a ransom anyone would pay for. Those jewels, that's art to me. Created by earth and made beautiful by space. I always regretted it when I had to sell them."

Deidara let out a low whistle and she heard a chuckle from behind her. Startled, she whirled and found a certain Uchiha with a lop-sided, knowing, half-smile. She knew exactly what he was thinking and flushed in anger, unsure who the emotion was directed towards. Herself for proving the Uchiha right, Itachi for being right, or Deidara for making her say such silly things!

"I-I thought you were leaving today," Aiyana stammered uncertainly.

"Ah, and what does the great Uchiha think of art?" Deidara asked mockingly. His sky blue eyes seemed to darken with storm clouds at the other Akatsuki member and Aiyana feared a hurricane might form.

"Hn. It's a waste of time," Itachi said calmly. He had managed to find what he had come to the kitchen for. Out of the fridge, he pulled out a box and opened it to reveal three sticks of dango. He took one of them; Aiyana managed to sneak away another and stuff it in her mouth before he got a chance to steal it back. The glower he gave her was bound to set her on fire, so she directed her attention elsewhere.

"Well, then, Deidara-san, if you're such an art freak, what is art to you?"

Deidara laughed as if she had asked the dumbest question ever. "Art is an explosion!"

"_He's a pyro," _Haka muttered.

"It only lasts a second. One second of beauty and then it's gone! Boom!"

"_Definitely a pyro, but not exactly the smartest pyro," _Aiyana agreed. "So you like explosions? Like fireworks? Do you make fireworks?"

The blond looked insulted and now she had two extremely powerful men glaring at her hatefully. Itachi really was trying to burn her alive for stealing his dango. Maybe if she offered a peace offering he'd stop because it was really creeping her out. Pulling the stick out of her mouth, she offered the last dango ball to him. His eyes narrowed and he made no move to accept the offering.

Deidara had begun to laugh and she was beginning to doubt the sanity of _every _Akatsuki member. "No, thief, I make clay explosives like this…"

He dipped his hand into a pouch and placed the same hand face down on the counter. When he pulled it away, she saw two things: one was a clay spider looking around curiously and the other was a bizarre mouth licking the palm of Deidara's hand hungrily. The hair stood up on the back of her neck and she decided not to mention it or look at it for that matter. Then he placed his hands together in a hand sign.

"Katsu."

The clay spider exploded, leaving a very large dent in the counter. He began to laugh like an overjoyed child. Beside her, Itachi let out a rather forlorn sigh. Then he walked out of the room, snatching the stick of one dango from her hand as he left. Aiyana started and looked down at her hand and then the back of the retreating Uchiha.

"Hey! You bastard! If you had wanted that you should have taken it earlier! You know, when I offered it to you!" She huffed angrily before looking back at Deidara, her eyes cold. "I hate that bastard."

Deidara chuckled. "That's one thing we have in common, girl. How was my explosion?"

"Aiyana, my name is Aiyana," she said dismissively as if the name wasn't of much importance before looking at the very nice hole the spider had created in the counter. "And your explosion was very…explosive. What else do you make out of your clay? Can you make anything?"

Deidara grinned. "Anything and everything! I can even make a bird that flies! You know, I'm the only Akatsuki member that can fly? Heh, not even the asshole Itachi will be able to accomplish a feat like that!"

She was glad that Deidara liked to gloat. "A flying bird? That's bullshit. You can't make a flying bird out of clay."

It worked; his face scrunched with anger as the words struck his ears. "Oh, I can't, can I? Well, I'll show you! I'll let you take a ride on that flying bird! How about that, yeah?"

"_Deidara, you have no idea how happy I am to hear that," _Aiyana sighed mentally. In real life, she let out a bark of a laugh and waved her hand. "Sure thing, Dei-chan, assuming you can even _make _a flying clay-bird." He gritted his teeth at her taunt. "How about I meet you and your 'bird' in that one room with the opening in fifteen minutes? Then, if that bird really can fly, you can prove it to me."

"Prove it to you? Ha! I'll do better than that! I'll prove to you that I'm the best Akatsuki member ever, yeah!" And with that he stomped out of the kitchen, muttering about how everyone underestimated him.

"_That boy is a fool and a pyro,_" Haka said dryly.

Aiyana smiled, agreeing and glad that he was such. If it had been the Uchiha with the capability of flying (which was something she couldn't quite imagine), then the simplistic plan would have been seen right through. Deidara had to have some sense, he was in Akatsuki after all, but it appeared as if common sense wasn't one of them. Thank God for that.

Finally she stopped in front of Konan's door and knocked. Behind the wood, she heard a familiar whine. Of course, she had a plan in place, but she wouldn't be able to go through with it if a certain wolf was missing from her side. After a few seconds, Konan open and smiled kindly at her. Aiyana knew it would be easy to get Mingan away from her for ten minutes or so.

"Hello, Konan-san," Aiyana said softly with a smile.

"Aiyana-chan, I'm guessing you're here to see your dog," Konan said, opening the door even wider. Her cape was wrapped loosely around her, unbutton and revealing her normal clothes. The clothes were made to show off the older woman's exceptional good figure and Aiyana couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

"Wolf," she corrected looking past Konan into the room.

The wolf in question was leashed to a solid metal pole that wasn't there yesterday. He looked like a dog and certainly didn't look happy about it. He strained against his rope-made leash desperately trying to run to Aiyana. The pole didn't budge and the rope was choking him as he tried. Without any formal permission, Aiyana slipped into the room and knelt down in front of the wolf.

"Poor Mingan," she muttered ruffling his fur, "they certainly know how to treat you like a dog here."

"You remind me of Kisame-san and his goldfish," Konan said absentmindedly from behind.

Unexpectedly, Aiyana burst into laughter. "Kisame-san has goldfish?"

"Yes, and apparently he cares for them very much," Konan answered, laughter bubbling on the edge of her lips.

She had better self-control than the thief and managed to hold it back. The thief's laughter doubled at the thought of Kisame fretting over his little fish; she buried her face into Mingan's fur to muffle the sound. Her laughter finally managed to pull a small giggle out of Konan's lips.

"They're probably mutant goldfish, aren't they?" Aiyana asked, wiping tears away from her eyes. Konan shook her head, her fingers splayed delicately across her lips to hold her laughter back. "Next thing you know, you'll be telling me Itachi-san owns a weasel."

"Actually, I do believe Hidan gave him one as a joke," Konan announced, holding her head as if she was trying to remember exactly what the occasion was. "Yes, I think Hidan gave Itachi-san a weasel as a welcoming present. I don't know what happened to it."

Aiyana had already begun to giggle, covering her mouth in an attempt to contain it. Of course, that didn't work and she fell back into another intense wave of laughter. She made a mental note to interrogate Itachi about his pet weasel when she got the chance. If she ever got the chance, she corrected. Ten minutes had to have passed already; she needed to get Mingan.

Aiyana cleared her throat. "Actually, Konan-san, I came here to ask you a favor." Konan raised a brow. "Can I please take Mingan out on a walk?" The older woman blinked in surprise. "I mean, it's been two days and he hasn't had proper exercise at all! It'll only just be ten minutes, promise!"

Konan giggled, surveying Aiyana's begging expression before nodding. "Yes, it'll be fine. Just don't let Pain-sama see you; he will not be pleased with either of us if that happens."

Aiyana jumped to her feet, excitement shining in her eyes but not for the same reason Konan suspected. "Oh, thank you so much!"

Konan nodded and opened the door so she could leave, wolf trailing happily behind. It didn't take long for the two of them to reach the designated meeting spot. Aiyana froze at the entrance. Deidara had beaten them there and had already made his bird. When he had said clay bird; he wasn't lying. The blond sat arrogantly on top of his masterpiece, grinning at her shocked expression.

"Wow, Dei-chan, so you can make a massive bird," Aiyana commented, keeping her tone bland and bored. It would make him irritate and less likely to see through her transparent plan. The sound of his grinding teeth reached her ears; she was glad to know it was working. "But it's so bulky. How can a thing like that fly?"

"Why don't you get on and I'll show you, yeah?" Deidara grinned happily and offered her his hand. The mouth she had seen earlier was still there, closed this time but no less creepy.

He was eager to prove his worth to her, and Aiyana would have admitted that his childish giant bird was impressive in its own way. It was something that she would never be able to replicate, and people would like it simply for its size. Size would get it to sell. If the bird had been smaller, like size of her palm small, many would have disregarded it as a child's creation and place no monetary value on it. Of course, selling a giant, more than likely exploding, clay bird was out of the question.

Aiyana (reluctantly) accepted his hand and allowed her to pull her up onto the back of the hardened clay. Her hair stood up again when she was sure something wet and slimy licked her palm, but she tried to keep her face impassive. Then she leaned over the edge and called Mingan up. The wolf wandered around to the back end and jumped on from there. Deidara glanced at the canine with a bit of a disgruntled look before looking at her.

"Are you ready, thief?"

"And where do you think you're going?" Kakuzu had appeared out of nowhere, standing tall on the head of Deidara's clay bird. His analytic green eyes had puzzled out the situation the moment he laid eyes on it. Aiyana's lips tightened and she hoped he wouldn't say a word about it. Deidara wouldn't be pleased to hear that he was being used, and she wanted to keep the straw bridge she had built between them intact. "Using the local idiot to try and escape, I see. I don't think Pain-sama will be too pleased to hear that."

Deidara whirled around, trying to decide who to direct his anger at. Eventually he decided Aiyana would be the better choice and glared ice cold daggers at her. The bridge was burning. Straw burnt rather quickly, but she knew his anger towards her would smolder for quite a while. "What? Are you going to tattle to your big, bad boss or something?"

"Actually, I wanted to discuss something about you with him," Kakuzu announced. "And you have just given me the perfect reason for an emergency meeting. Let's go." He jumped off the bird and looked over his shoulder at the younger couple. "You too, Deidara."

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><p>Cat's Notes<p>

This is one of my favorite chapters so far. :) A bit of fluff, a bit of humor, and a bit of plot movement. I need to write in Itachi's weasel somewhere...he lives in the caves and goes by the name of Klepto. He'll just pop in randomly in one of these chapters. Weasel on the run...

Anyways, Dei-chan now hates Aiyana. Kakuzu wants to discuss something with Pein (Gasp, what could it be?) And uhhh...that's the chapter.

PS for your Vampire Academy fans, Richelle Mead came out with a new book based off of Sydney (the alchemist). I'm going to start reading it now. :D

'Till next week!


	16. Mission II

Wolf Thief

Chapter 16: Mission II

Kakuzu didn't even bother knocking on his leader's door; he just strutted right in as if he was the leader himself. His arrogance earned him a cold look from Pain who had been cut off from his conversation with none other than Itachi and Kisame. Both criminals seemed surprised to see Aiyana and a protective Mingan wander in after Kakuzu and flanked by an extremely pissed Deidara.

"What's going on?" Pain asked coolly.

"Your little thief girl nearly managed to trick Deidara into flying her out of the base."

Deidara's scowl deepened and he shot mental daggers at Aiyana. The thief stuck her tongue out at him in return. The sweet, curious nature that had surrounded her earlier had been replaced by a haughty, calculating one. The entire conversation had been a trick on her part, he realized. Well, maybe with the exception of her opinion of art, that had certainly seemed honest.

"Don't be stupid, Kakuzu! I knew what she was planning the whole time!" Deidara contradicted, snapping at the older member and attempting to clear his name. There was no way he was going to admit that a girl years younger than him had almost managed to trick him. "I was planning on catching her in the act and then proving it to Pain-sama."

"In other words, you didn't have a clue," Kisame suddenly said from behind. He was grinning, pointy teeth and all at the argument that had arisen. "I just want to know how you got a hold of that dog of yours, girl."

"I agree," Pain muttered, folding his hands and glaring at the wolf that couldn't seem to decide which man in the room was more a threat.

Aiyana didn't want to get Konan in trouble; of course, Konan wouldn't be too pleased with her once she caught wind of her escape attempt. Either way, she wasn't going to be the one to tattle on the other woman. "I found him and untied him from his post. It was rather easy actually; no one was in the room guarding him."

Pain's eyes narrowed dangerously and she thought that maybe their bizarre appearance was coupled with a bizarre ability. Like detecting lies, for instance, or maybe even reading minds. After a moment of intense, creepy staring, he got up and approached her. Mingan placed himself between them, but Kisame used his samehada to push the wolf away and into a corner where he trapped the animal by holding onto his makeshift leash. Aiyana suddenly regretted never taking it off, but she feared it would be too suspicious looking to Deidara if she had. Pain placed a finger under her chin and then grabbed it when she tried to pull away.

"So you think you can escape Akatsuki?"

"Think?" Aiyana spat back at him. "I _know _I can."

His hand moved from her chin to her throat, wrapping around tightly and lifting her several inches off the ground. Uncomfortable barely described the feeling as she clawed at his arm in an attempt to breathe properly. "Your arrogance is going to get you killed, thief."

"So I've been told," Aiyana managed to wheeze out, grinning at the man despite her predicament.

Pain's hand tightened on her throat and kept any words that were even considering escape trapped within the walls of mouth. "I'll remedy that soon," he growled angrily before dropping her to the ground. Aiyana landed in a heap, gasping and rubbing her neck. It fucking hurt; it was not going to be her usual color in a couple of hours, that she was sure of. "From now on, you'll be confined to a single room. Now get her out of my sight."

"Actually, Pain-sama, I was wondering if I could take her," Kakuzu suddenly said. He had been watching the scene with mild amusement. The girl was lucky; Pain seemed to be in a good mood. If he hadn't been then she surely would have lost a few limbs and most definitely that sharp tongue of hers.

"Take her where?"

"Kusagakure."

"Eh?" Aiyana's voice caught their interest and she suddenly jumped to her feet. "Kusagakure doesn't like me!"

Kakuzu tilted his head and, she guessed, smiled at her. "I know. They're offering 50 million yen to the man who brings you in." Her lip twitched and the bounty hunter switched his attention to Pain. "I believe this amount of money would be very useful for our organization."

"Useful?" Aiyana snapped angrily. "You think I'm some kind of to-"

A hand clamped over her mouth, trapping her words just as effectively as a lock and key. "I warned you last time," a hushed voice muttered by her ear. Itachi's action had earned him a curious look from everyone else in the room and he slowly removed his hand.

Pain switched from the enigmatic Uchiha to the bounty hunter Akatsuki member. "What are you suggesting?"

"I'm suggesting that I take her to Kusagakure, turn her in for the bounty and then break her back out of jail." Kakuzu shrugged. "It'll be simple and Akatsuki will get 50 million yen out of it." His eyes switched to the girl whose temper was flaring in her eyes. "We might as well make use of her while we can. Once Uchiha-san and Kisame-san return with the scroll and Uzumaki, then the opportunity will disappear."

'While we can' was certainly a puzzling and foreboding phrase. What on earth were they planning on doing with her? Or with Haka was more like it. If the spirit had any ideas, she wasn't about to share them. In the very least, she was sure her fate lay in a crowded bed with a dead tree and foolish ninja. Her ears twitched back underneath of her bandana at the sudden sound of a muffled yelp. Kisame muttered something crude about canines.

Pain mulled over Kakuzu's suggestion. "And what will keep her from breaking out of jail on her own?" he asked, glancing distrustfully at the thief. She was happy to know that her failed escape attempt at least made an impression on the Akatsuki leader. Kakuzu apparently hadn't thought of that outcome.

Kisame tugged on Mingan's leash again and the wolf snapped at the overgrown fish, a growl emitting from the canine's throat. Aiyana whirled around and snapped, "Quit it! You're hurting him every time you tug on that damn rope!"

Behind her, she heard two men begin to chuckle and gasped, realizing she had just made a very grave mistake. "Uchiha-san, I'm glad that you suggested we keep her pet alive. It's going to prove of use to us." His violet eyes reflected amusement as he looked at Aiyana's forlorn face. "Very well, Kakuzu, you and Hidan may accompany our thief to Kusagakure and carry out your plan. I'll expect your return within a week."

"Wai-Wait a second," Aiyana stammered out, "shouldn't I get a say in this?" She could feel Itachi's warning eyes on her and knew that perhaps she should listen to him and keep her mouth shut. Yet she couldn't just let these men plan something with her, something that she completely disapproved of, and not say anything!

To her surprise, it was Deidara who chuckled and answered her question. "Thief, you're in Akatsuki now. The moment you stepped into this base you lost whatever freedom you thought you had."

"Those were the wisest words I've ever heard you say," Kakuzu commented dryly.

Deidara's stormy eyes glared at his fellow member before switching to her. Oh, he totally hated her for embarrassing him. She was going to have to watch her back around him; there was no telling what he would do for revenge. Without another word, the sulky blond left the room. The door slammed shut and there was an explosion, shaking the roof of the cave system and causing loose dirt and pebbles to rain down.

The general consensus was that it was Deidara using his explosive clay to vent his anger. Of course, all those left in the room were proven wrong when Adrik burst through the door a few awkward minutes later. His general mop of brown hair was blown back, sticking up in unusual angles and held in place by a layer of soot. The soot also transformed him from a Caucasian man to a black man, completely covering his face, neck, arms, anything that wasn't covered already by clothing. His blue eyes were alive with anger and directed towards his amused daughter.

His hand reached out and aggressively grabbed her forearm, squeezing tightly. Well, there was another place that was going to be greatly discolored in a few hours. "What were you thinking?"

"That I would be long gone by the time this happened," she answered smartly, "but now I'm glad I got to see your face." The taunt pushed his anger over the edge. Without hesitation, he punched her. The force sent her stumbling back to the wall; her cheek tingled with pain and she immediately brought her hand up to caress it. "Son of a bitch!" she shouted.

No one else in the room moved, allowing the scene to play out without any interference. Well, Kisame moved an inch in order to keep restraining Mingan, who was snarling angrily and attempting to get his teeth underneath Adrik's skin. Her eyes moved expectantly to Itachi after all he had been the one to help her before. The answer was obvious in his eyes; it was her fault she was in this mess and none other. She was the one who would face the consequences.

"I don't know," she spat out through gritted teeth. A punch in the face by a man twice her age was painful, yet holding a hand to it wasn't going to make the pain stop. She dropped her hand and resumed glaring. "Why don't you tell me; you're the psychologist after all."

It took him a moment to realize that she had been reading his notes. With that realization in place, he realized that her out of character attitude suddenly made sense. Also, the fact that she knew which labels to switch and if he would even mix them made sense as well. Then he started chuckling. The sound was dark enough to scare even Night away.

"You hate me," he said simply. "But you hate yourself more." Aiyana opened her mouth to protest, call him an idiot, or whatever else dared to leave. "You hate yourself because, despite knowing that you _should _hate me, you want to like me. And, in return, you want me to like you, to pay attention to you, to treat you like my daughter." Her eyes were wide, breathing shallow as the truth of his words sunk. They were like poison, flowing through her blood stream, making her faint. "That's why you pulled your little prank. Even if you weren't here then you knew I would acknowledge, whether it was anger or love didn't matter to you. Acknowledgement is acknowledgement, after all."

Then with a malicious smirk, he turned on his heel and left. The tense air failed to leave with him and all remaining eyes turned to her and her pained expression. He was right. He was absolutely right. Her hand clenched and she could feel her eyes begin to water, but she wouldn't let them spill. There was no way she would cry in front of these men, if they even deserved to be called so. Chewing on her bottom lip, she looked down, the action caused a few drops of water to spill and she hoped no one noticed.

Finally Pain cleared his throat. The sound chased away the tense silence. "Well, then, Kakuzu-san, you may take Aiyana-chan and leave whenever you please. As for you two, Itachi and Kisame, the scroll is again being held by Konoha. My recourses tell me that-"

"I can steal it for you," Aiyana suddenly said. She looked up, the water still brimming on the edge of her eyes yet her expression was determined. Whether it was determined because she didn't want the tears to fall or because she wanted her voice heard was undetermined. She did catch Pain's attention though.

Kisame chuckled. "And what can a thief do that a ninja can't?"

"Break into a government owned building and steal a scroll," Aiyana responded flatly. Her hand twitched and she walked over, snatching the rope from Kisame's hands and bringing Mingan to her side. The action earned a dark glare at both of them from Pain. "What are you planning on doing? Barge in, kill everyone, and hope you can find it before they send reinforcements?"

Kisame's glare darkened and she figured that was his plan. His partner, on the other hand, may have thought things through a bit more. Her eyes, no longer teary thanks to her arguing, switched to the Uchiha. His stoic expression revealed nothing. Finally she huffed. "Fine then," she grumbled, "you're going to fail."

Kisame laughed outright at the thought of two Akatsuki members _failing. _With one last dark glare, she marched out the door, rope in hand and a large, angry wolf following behind. Kakuzu went after her, eager to put his plan into action and left the last three members to discuss details of their mission.

* * *

><p>Cat's Notes<p>

Dang, I was hoping to get 50 reviews with the last chapter. Oh well, I guess this chapter will have to do! :) I hope you all enjoyed it. There's obviously some family problems going on...and the next chapter is pretty entertaining. Aiyana is stuck with a money loving Kakuzu and Hindan...

Review please! :)


	17. Jailbait

Cat's Notes

Hello, hello everyone! I had the most amazing night last night! **I saw Jack's Mannequin IN CONCERT! **Now, if you have read my profile then you'd know that Jack's Mannequin is my favorite band. AND I SAW THEM **LIVE **LAST NIGHT! _-insert fangirl squeal-_ OMGOMGOMG! I CAN'T BELIEVE I FUCKING SAW JACK'S MANNEQUIN!

As you can see, I still can't believe that it happened. But seeing Andrew McMahon play the piano was worth the all the failed attempts (I've tried to see them 3 times before but it never worked), the two hour drive, the fucking speeding ticket (damn you cop), getting lost multiple times, standing up for five hours straight, and getting sick the next day! :D:D:D I had a hell of a day yesterday, as you can tell. BUT I SAW JACK'S MANNEQUIN!

And because I'm just oh so happy (_I saw Jack's Mannequin~_) and I want to spread the happiness, I'll be doing a double update. That's right. **Double update.**

You read those words correctly. I'll post Chapter 18 later today after I proof read it and (hopefully) finish writing chapter 23. :D

**ReadEnjoy(Life)&Review!**

PS:

**WARNING** There are adult themes mentioned in this chapter! Nothing is acted upon, only said. In any case, there is a reason this story is rated T (or should it be M?). You have been warned either way!**  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Wolf Thief<p>

Chapter 17: Jailbait

It took them three days of traveling to reach Kusagakure.

They were the _worst _three days of her life.

Three days of listening to Kakuzu and Hidan argue like an old married couple. Three days of having her wrists tied up and being dragged behind Hidan like a sick, useless horse. Three days of having a cloth stuffed in her mouth because her voice was "too damn irritating and grates on my ears". Three days of being supplied with a meager amount of food and water to keep her _alive. _

Three days of itching to pull an escape attempt and then having the image of a lonely black wolf pop into her mind.

Three fucking days.

It was a relief when Kakuzu pulled the cloth out of her mouth. "Alright, thief, we're going to walk into Kusagakure and turn you in." She frowned, her eyes darkened. The idea of turning her in for money still didn't slide with her. "We'll be back at midnight to break you out. Don't do anything stupid that puts you anywhere where you aren't supposed to be. If you do, then I can't guarantee that your pet will be there to greet you when you get back."

Aiyana nodded; her throat hoarse from lack of fluid and simply not talking for three days.

"Let's go, bitch," Hidan snapped, tugging on her make-shift leash. She tugged back, just enough for him to notice her resistance. He whirled around a scowl across his fine features. "Bitch! What'd you do that for?"

"Because," her croaking voice came out, "I'm not just an ass you can drag along as you please. Now let's get this over with."

Hidan huffed and tugged on the rope again, this time with enough force to make her stumble forward a few steps.

Kusagakure didn't have a wall protecting it like the other villages perhaps because they didn't think they were worth protecting. Out of all the ninja villages, theirs was the most likely to hire their ninjas out to other villages for whatever use. And by _whatever use _it was literally meant literally. As long as the village received money, it didn't care if one of their chairmen was assassinated by one of their own. In her mind, it had earned the name as 'greediest' village. It surprised her that Kakuzu, who had spent a good portion of the three days calculating Akatsuki's expenses for the week, wasn't from the village.

When she was dragged into the somewhat dirty and severely rundown police station, the bored secretary didn't seem to know what to do.

"I'm here to collect a bounty," Kakuzu announced, jabbing his finger at her.

The secretary's dull eyes swayed over to Aiyana. "Who is she? She doesn't seem like a person who'd be on the wanted list to me."

"The Wolf Thief."

The secretary's muddy eyes widened and looked over the girl again. Aiyana thought that she had to be a pitiful sight. After all, she had worn the same clothes for the past three days and hadn't had a single chance to brush her hair, teeth, or any personal hygiene of that sort. There were bruises scattered here and there, an especially noticeable yet fading one still discolored her cheek, and she probably had a few leaves clinging helplessly to her. Add that to a dark and gloomy 'I-don't-want-to-be-here' expression and she was sure she looked like a complete peach.

Immediately the secretary began flipping through one of her books, glancing up and down as she compared the real thing to the photo that was outdated by over a year. Finally, she sighed and smiled up at Kakuzu. "Yes, that's definitely her. I'll have someone take her to the back while I get you a check. I believe she's worth 50 million at the moment. Am I correct?"

Behind her, Hidan cackled and slapped her back. "Damn, bitch, I didn't think you were worth that fucking much."

Aiyana hated how he said that. She growled as the secretary whistled to bring one of the other men over. The man who came was a ninja of the village, probably just a chuunin or such, but a ninja none-the-less. His eyes swept her over in a mildly interested manner before he took the rope-leash from Hidan.

"To think that you're the person who stole the Broken Emerald." The ninja grinned at her. "You're so little."

"Which is exactly _why _I was able to steal it," Aiyana replied, feeling her face flush. So what if she barely crossed the five foot mark and she was already fifteen? She didn't feel as if people needed to point it out all the time! "And it was a rather easy steal too. I mean, part of it was thanks to your government, if you weren't so into child slaves I never would-"

The ninja slapped her in the exact same place Adrik had earlier that week. In the very least he could have pretended to be considerate and hit her on the other cheek, but, no, it had to be the same one. A sharp intake of pain and then she breathed it out slowly in a hiss. So child slaves were a touchy subject in the village? Perhaps a nearby village had caught wind of Kusagakure's illegal trade system then. She had let it leak to someone with official connections in Sunagakure about the whole 'selling children' trade that was going on in the remote grass village.

Kakuzu was looking at her with tired eyes. "Thief, that mouth of yours is going to get you killed one day."

"So I've been told," Aiyana replied with a grin. "Did you get your money, yet, Kakuzu-san? You have to watch the people around here; they have greedier hands than I do."

Another slap and on the same cheek too! Damn, it was getting sore again. The fuming ninja pulled on the rope harshly letting it bite aggressively into her skin. Then, too angry to form any proper words, he dragged her to the back of the building and then further still.

The cells were in a dark, lanky corridor. In fact, they were comparable to a horror film's jail cells. And, despite the fact that there were half a dozen available cells towards the front, the angry ninja dragged her to one of the far back ones. The fluorescent lights towards the back flicked inconsistently unable to decide if the place received a scarier vibe when it was flickering or when it was plunging the world into darkness. The cells were nasty obviously neglected because of the fact that they were so far back and rarely used.

The nameless man unlocked one of them and shoved her in it. "Enjoy your stay. I'm sure they'll figure out what to do with you in a couple of days."

He sneered and then walked away. Aiyana ran back to the rusted bars. "Hey, hey! Wait a second, can't you at least get rid of these damn ropes!"

Apparently it was too much trouble to walk back down the creepy hallway and cut them. She sighed and glanced about her new room for the next half-a-day. There was the cot, hanging off rusted hinges and tilting towards the ground, which took up one of the walls. A nice moldy, probably not working, toilet seat was crammed into the corner diagonal of the cot. At least the designers knew that the prisoner would want to be as far away from that contraption as possible. There was a sink, just as moldy and probably just as broken as the toilet. And cinderblocks, lots of uneven cinderblocks stacked on top of each other to form three walls. Rusted iron bars that were five inches or less apart formed the fourth wall. Her primary source of light was the fluorescent one that couldn't seem to decide if it wanted to be a light or not.

First thing was first; she wanted the ropes off of her wrists. The sharpest thing in the cell was probably the iron edge of the rusted hinges on the cot. So, cringing ever-so-slightly, she lay on her back and began to rub the rope against the edge of the hinges. It took a few minutes but the ropes finally frayed enough so she could physically pull them apart.

Next thing was a weapon. She wasn't about to sit in a jail cell, much less one in Kusagakure, unprotected. The curved spout of the sink faucet called out to her. Pulling out one of the lock picks from her hair, she attempted to unbolt it from the ceramic sink. The rust was so in love with their steel bolts that the screws refused to budge. Agitated, she gave up and instead gave the faucet a good solid kick. The rust had eaten so far into the metal that the kick was enough to dislodge it. Another one had it clattering to the floor.

No spouts of water came flying up at her. The water probably wasn't even running in the back portion of the jail. She picked up her new weapon and settled on the cot to wait.

It was a few hours later when she finally received visitors. She cut off her conversation about Akatsuki with Haka and stood, the steel faucet head hidden behind her back, as she watched two of the guards approach her cell. One carried a tray that could only be food. The one who wasn't carrying the tray unlocked the cell door and allowed his companion to set the tray inside with her.

It was the way their eyes lingered on her that assured her they would be back later. And perhaps their slightly feral smiles as they let their eyes swoop up and down. Her hand tightened around the faucet and she had half a mind to hit them on the side of the head with it before they could think of any more dirty thoughts. Instead, she darkened her gaze and refused to acknowledge the food they offered her until they had left. Pulling off her bandana, she let her ears listen to their conversation as they left her alone with the shadows again.

"Her face would have been prettier if Sanehisa hadn't beat her up so much, ne?"

Sanehisa had to be the ninja with a short fuse from earlier.

"I'd like to beat her up some myself. If ya get what I mean."

The two of them chuckled before the other one responded. "Perhaps we should. 'Sides, whose gonna care about a little thief girl. They'll probably kill her for her crimes once they find out what she did with the emerald. Maybe we should do somethin' tonight." A pause, the other man was probably thinking it over. "We can come around midnight. No one's ever around at midnight."

The timing seemed to reassure his partner. "Yea, yea, if no one's around."

A door creaked open and then closed. It was probably the door that separated the cells from the rest of the building, like the office portion of the building. The conversation was lost behind them and Aiyana sighed and picked up her tray. The food was meager, cold, and stale. The shit that Kakuzu and Hidan had been feeding her was better than what Kusagakure presented her with.

She ate it anyways using the poorly made chowder soup to soften the hard, stale bread. Energy was a requirement for later tonight, if she wanted to take revenge on those two men for even _thinking _of raping a female prisoner and so she could escape with Hidan and Kakuzu. Not much better, but she was positive they weren't interested in her sexually. Hopefully by the end of the night those two guards would never want to touch another female prisoner again.

Her plan turned out to be rather simple and rather violent. Fighting wasn't on the list of her best skills, but it wasn't on the list of her worst ones either. So she threw out the idea of taking on two formally trained ninjas head on. A surprise attack on the other hand was easy to set up. They would be surprised when they found out that the girl sitting on the cot was just a substitution jutsu; they would be surprised when the real her clunked them on the back of the head with a faucet.

Aiyana was quick to set it up. Using her lock picks, she unlocked the cell door and found a rock that she could perform a substitution jutsu on. With a few hand signs a perfect replica of herself sat on the cot, hands folded and glaring at the ground. She locked the cell and scaled to the top where a wooden beam provided a perfect over-seeing perch and waited.

The guards came marching back down the hallway at midnight. She straightened up and heard one of them guffaw at the sight of her clone sitting listlessly on the cot. They unlocked the cell door and the taller, chubbier one walked in. She took advantage of the moment, swung down and landed on his unaware partner, hitting the thin man on the head with the faucet.

When his partner fell over, the taller and chubbier one turned around, mouth wide open. "You-you? But how?" he stammered out.

Aiyana shrugged. "You should consider replacing the locks." She made a move to hit him on the head with the faucet, but his ninja skills took over. He yanked out a kunai and used it to block her attack. His satisfied grin turned into a grimace of pain as she kicked him between the legs. His eyes screwed together and he dropped the knife to clutch his crotch before fainting from the pain.

She grabbed the keys off of him and turned to find Kakuzu and Hidan standing outside the cell. Hidan let out a low whistle. "He ain't going to be fucking anyone anytime soon."


	18. Invasion of Privacy

Cat's Notes

Hi! As you can see my notes moved back to the top again. That's okay though, it's only for this week :)

As I promised, double update!

Also, there's a special surprise at the end of the chapter ;) Cause I'm cool like that. (It you ever talk with me, you'll realize that I can be quite arrogant at times. I'm pretty awesome, is all).

ReadEnjoy&Review!

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><p>Wolf Thief<p>

Chapter 18: Invasion of Privacy

Three more days brought them back to the Akatsuki base. Thankfully, Hidan and Kakuzu didn't treat her like some prized racing horse and allowed her to walk freely behind them. Either way, she kept her mouth shut. She wasn't in the mood to give them a reason to gag her; she rather liked having the ability to breathe freely.

In the week she had traveled with Hidan and Kakuzu, she discovered that she did not like them. Not. One. Bit. Hidan constantly preached his religion to her as if she listened and cussed her out when he discovered she wasn't. Kakuzu only considered money and eyed her as if she herself was a bar of gold. She was betting on the fact that he was thinking of pulling the same stunt in some other village.

Aiyana could honestly say she was relieved when they reached the Akatsuki base. She had piggy-backed on Hidan to get to the main entrance. Once again, he cursed her out and told her she should learn basic chakra control like every other ninja. It took quite a bit of her might to not snap back at him and claim that she was not, in fact, a ninja. He dropped her at the beginning of the passageway, ordered her to get lost, and then followed Kakuzu.

The first place she went to was the kitchen. Kakuzu did start feeding her better after their mission succeeded, but her stomach still felt like eating itself. Once she walked in though, she found herself subject to the apathetic gaze of the only woman in Akatsuki.

"Hello, Aiyana-chan," Konan greeted. There wasn't a hint of emotion in her voice. No anger, coldness, or happiness. It was simply a voice that said hello and nothing more. It was enough to confirm the fact that Konan was no longer someone she could talk to within the base.

"Konan-san!" Aiyana said with an unusually chipper smile. Hopefully it'd get the sulking woman to warm up to her a bit. It didn't. "And how is taking care of Mingan going?"

"Fine. He's fine." There was hesitation in her response and something in Konan's voice made Aiyana's stomach sink. Something was wrong.

"Can I see him?" If Konan said _no,_ then she'd still find a way to see the wolf. She'd just have to practice her stealth skills. They were probably deteriorating anyways.

Konan's gaze darkened on her and she finally let venom seep into her tone. "Of course not. Not with that escape stunt you failed to pull a week ago." Though the woman as far from yelling, Aiyana was sure the entire cave system resonated with her voice. "What were you thinking, anyways? Doing something stupid like that?"

"I was thinking that staying here would surely be the same as death and trying not to escape would be the same as suicide," Aiyana snapped back angrily. "Wouldn't you do the same in my position?"

The question gave the other woman pause. Finally Konan nodded. "I would, but I wouldn't fail."

That arrogance! Damn, when Konan was angry she sure knew how to poke her sticks in revenge. Aiyana sighed and watched the retreating cloak before raiding the fridge. There wasn't much left to choose from, but there was enough to fill her stomach. Once finished, she decided that a shower or a bed was next on the list. Preferably a shower but she could make do with sleep as well.

Aiyana hesitated outside Adrik's door. As far as she knew, her meager bag of clothes was still inside the room, yet she didn't know if he was still angry about the stunt she had pulled a week ago. Thinking of what he had said to her left anger boiling in her abdomen. Her hand clenched and she turned away, figuring that she could find somewhere else to sleep for a couple of hours while she figured out what to do.

Unfortunately, when she turned away, she happened to face Adrik. A cold smile was quick to slither across his lips. "Ah, Aiyana-chan, I see Kakuzu managed to bring you back in piece. Tell me, how was it? Did you like it better than Akatsuki?"

"What do you think?" Aiyana snapped. "Of course I liked it better, you weren't there!"

Adrik laughed as if she had told him an incredibly funny joke. Pushing past her, he opened the door to his laboratory. She moved to follow but his suddenly dark voice made her freeze. "Don't move. Do you really think I'd ever let you back in here after that shit you pulled before leaving?"

"And who are you to tell me where I can and can't go?" Aiyana growled at him, taking one step in past the doorway. He sent a look that she swore could call up a storm but refused to move. "Where am I supposed to sleep? And shower? I thought Pain told you to watch over me."

Adrik barked out a laugh opening a door and pulling out a familiar brown bag. "So now you want to be near me? Make up your mind, daughter." She physically flinched at the word. "I don't give a damn where you sleep or shower as long as it isn't in this room. As for Pain-sama, he doesn't give a damn about you either. We have your precious pet and he seems confident enough that's enough to keep you with us." The scientist tossed her the bag before settling down into his seat, back to her and eyes more focused on his atrocious hand writing. "Now get lost, I've have work to do."

"You forgot to give me my katana," Aiyana announced coolly. She already had slung the bag over her shoulder and made a move for the closet Adrik had drawn it from.

"I said not to come in this room," he snapped angrily before standing. She froze in her place as he went over to the closet and pulled out the weapon tossing it to her as well. "Leave."

With most of her possessions in her hand, she was more than happy to do so while obnoxiously slamming the door as she did. Aiyana headed back to the kitchen trying to figure out where she could go. Adrik had kicked her out of his room which was perfectly fine with her but it left her bed-less and shower-less. Konan obviously wasn't in a giving mood and she doubted Pain ever was. Kakuzu annoyed the hell out of her whereas Hidan would probably convert her or sacrifice her when the former failed.

Itachi.

That was right, the Uchiha was the only person in the base that had yet to show some kind of distaste towards her. Plus he had let her use his shower before surely he wouldn't mind if she borrowed it again. Gathering up her things, she went down the hall to Itachi's room.

One knock received no answer.

Two and the bastard still didn't deign himself to check.

Three and she was getting frustrated.

"He's still out on his mission," a cold monotone voice, quite similar to Itachi's, said.

Aiyana turned to face the new comer. She couldn't see his face, but underneath the red and black cloak his body was rather deformed. He took a few steps and the movement reminded her of a snail laboring along the road. "Oh. Right, then I guess I'll just wait for him to get back."

"Hm, you're the thief that Kakuzu turned in for money, aren't you?" She felt her face flush instantly filled with a mix of anger and embarrassment. The red tinge on her cheeks must have been enough of an answer. "Interesting," and satisfied with that word he trudged away with his labored-snail movements.

"Hey, hey," Aiyana shouted after him. "What do you mean interesting?"

The man paused for a moment and glanced back. "I don't have time for stupid girls like you."

"Wha-what? Hey, who are you calling stupid, asshole! I wasn't the one who-shit." The hunchback of Akatsuki completely ignored her as he disappeared around the corner. Cursing she pulled out a lock pick and set to work on intruding on Itachi's privacy. Out of all the members of Akatsuki, he was the one who was least likely to murder her for pulling a stunt like this.

Like many of the cave rooms in Akatsuki, Itachi's was semi-large. It was large enough to fit the love seat, couch, and table set she recalled from over a week ago along with a bookshelf, writing desk, and bed. Then there was the small door way with a curtain acting as the door that led to the shower. Odd…how was there a working shower in a cave system? Why hadn't she thought of that before? Working shower, working fridge, working lights, she had to conclude that the cave system wasn't a primitive as she thought.

Investigations first!

She wandered to the desk, rifling through papers happily. Itachi's handwriting wasn't as atrocious as Adrik's, but there was nothing interesting on the papers. Quite a few of them had to do with financial figures. Itachi couldn't be another Kakuzu! Of course, when she scanned the papers for the reason behind the numbers, she found nothing incriminating. Most of the things he bought were daily needs and medicine.

Next paper!

A list of missions given to him by Akatsuki and check marks next to those he had completed. Her eyes skimmed down to the bottom of the list where she saw a check hastily scribbled next to_ Capture the thief_. Underneath that was his next mission: _Retrieve scroll from Konoha_. Her eyes rescanned the paper until she found one mission that had yet to receive its checkmark: _Capture Naruto Uzumaki_.

Well, Naruto certainly lasted against Akatsuki far longer than she did and she hoped it stayed that way.

The paper after that was simply a list of names. It made no sense to her so she shuffled right along to the next one. The Uchiha didn't seem too keen on documenting very many things so it wasn't very long until she reached the end of the pile. And, to her surprise, there was a photo at the bottom, taped to the desk.

It was a photo of his family. And why on earth would a man who murdered his family keep a photo of them taped to his desk? Maybe she was going insane and the photo wasn't really there. After another moment of studying it, she dumped the papers back on top then went to investigate the books.

Her eyes immediately scanned for one that appeared to be used more often than others. For some reason or another, people really liked hiding important information in books and she doubted Itachi was an exception. But all of his books looked equally untouched. Well, all except one that hadn't been properly put away and lay sideways amongst its friends. She picked it up and glanced gingerly over the was the book he had stolen from Tobi. And an interesting book it was. The idiot had been reading some crazy book on metaphysics. What a complex book for an idiot to be reading. Perhaps that insanity was catching up with her faster than she thought. Huffing, she threw the book on top of the pile of papers and marched off to the shower.

Afterwards, Aiyana decided that she had time and snuck off to the hallway Konan's room was in. There was no way she could remain incognito with the place as barren as it was. Double checking to make sure no one was coming she pressed an ear against the door. Someone was moving around—Konan most likely—so she wouldn't be able to go wandered down the hall, hoping that she could maybe just find a place to sit down and watch the door. Unfortunately, she wasn't lucky and decided to head back to Itachi's room and try again later.

Aiyana played the patience game. She got a book off the shelf and headed to the kitchen. That way, if Konan wandered into the kitchen for a snack she would know the room was empty. Time puttered away, the book was boring as fuck (similar to Itachi's bland personality, no wonder he owned it) and Konan didn't show again. She'd try again tomorrow.

Tomorrow came and went and she still hadn't managed to get into the room to see Mingan. Something similar to fear settled into her stomach. Sure there had been times when she had been without Mingan. After all, he was a wild animal; he wanted his free time. Yet the longest she had been without him was six days. It had been eight since she last saw him. It was unnerving.

_"You should calm down. Akatsuki isn't going to do anything to him. He's their only leverage." _

Haka's comments didn't make her feel any better. Mingan may be leverage, but he only needed to be alive for them. His health wasn't exactly their top priority and it made her more anxious to try and see him.

Aiyana sighed and picked up the book she had been reading. Konan had yet to show in the kitchen and she was getting impatient. _"I know. I just can't shake this feeling. It wouldn't kill them to let me see him."_

_ "You're their hostage," _the wolf spirit pointed out. _"They're not going to make you feel comfortable. I'm surprised you aren't in a cell or something like that."_

_ "I know, I know. But I just can't…"_

_ "Ai-chan, I've already said it. He's their _only _leverage."_

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><p><strong>Cat's Notes<strong>

So I noticed that Itachi hasn't had a very big role in the past 3 chapters. :( I mean he's basically gone on a mission so I can really write anything about him magically appearing to save the day! He's actually back in the next chapter! (Yay!) But it's kind of depressing making him have a miniscule role these past few chapters. So I decided to add a little snippet with Itachi & Aiyana

Also, for **ShiningHeart of ThunderClan**, here is the missing part of Aiyana mixing up Adrik's labels ;) It takes place a few hours before she meets Deidara in the kitchen.

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><p>Itachi was immediately suspicious when he saw Aiyana kneeling in front of Adrik's door. It was far too early for many people to be up and she definitely never struck him as an early bird. A flash of something black in her hands immediately alerted him of her actions. She was picking the lock. Curious, considering the fact she was supposed to be staying with Adrik. He walked up wondering if she had noticed him or was too enthralled with her lock picking.<p>

"Itachi-san," she said calmly when he stood behind her. "Is there something you want?"

"What are you doing?"

"What's it look like?" Something clicked and Aiyana stood with a satisfied smile. She pocketed the picks and walked into the room.

Itachi followed her in knowing that she was probably about to cause trouble. "Why was it necessary to pick the lock?"

"It seems as if that bastard is a bit paranoid about my being in this room alone. So he kicked me out when he left and locked the door."

"And where is he now?" He decided to ignore the fact that she referred to Adrik as _that bastard_. There was going to be a day when she would have to call him something else.

Aiyana riffled through a few papers that sat next to a beaker. "I overheard him saying that he needed to talk with some guy named Sasori. I should have a good amount of time before he returns."

Itachi scanned the room and vaguely noted that this was the first time he had been in Adrik's room. Typically, when treating injured Akatsuki member's, Adrik used a room down the hall as a make-shift infirmary. He watched as Aiyana scanned the same page over and over again and then looked at the beakers. After another minute and perusing through more papers, she pulled out a set of labels. Her copy of Adrik's handwriting was so good he wasn't sure if he could have done a better job with the sharingan. Then she took the labels and placed them directly over the labels of a two beakers filled with clear liquid.

Itachi raised a brow. "May I ask what you're doing?"

Aiyana smiled at him, a hint of pride in her eyes. "You'll find out later, Itachi-san." For a moment she stared at him, wondering why he was up and wandering so early. Then she remembered he had a mission to go to and probably had to leave early. "Or maybe not. You're leaving today, aren't you?"

He nodded as she ushered him out of the room. She locked the door from the inside and heard it click into place when she shut the door behind her.

A mischievous grin sprouted on her lips. "Then you'll hear about it when you come back."


	19. Mission III

Wolf Thief

Chapter 19: Mission III

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><p>Itachi was an impeccably clean person. Whenever he left for a mission, he made sure he left his room at the base spotless which is why he paused and curiously wondered if he had forgotten to fix his bed before he left. It was extremely unusual for something like that to happen, but the rumpled sheets and hump were enough proof that he had indeed forgotten. Well, at least, that's what he thought until he saw the black wolf ears pointing out from underneath the sheets.<p>

He moved his arm to shake her awake, but flinched at the movement. Instead, he decided to call her. "Aiyana-chan."

The girl stirred and her ears twitched once.

"Aiyana-chan, get up."

Another stir but the sheets fell down slightly. Her eyes blinked open and languidly looked up at him. "Oh, hello, Itachi-san," she murmured with sleep clinging helpless to her gravelly voice. After a moment, she processed what her own tongue had said and sat up in a flash. "Itachi-san! What are you doing here?"

Itachi stared blandly at her before turning around and walking towards the bathroom. _His bathroom, _she realized with a flush. It was his room after all. He wasn't wearing his Akatsuki cloak, she thought carelessly as she stared at his retreating back. His shirt was just plain back, as equal in color as his pants, and the only thing that kept them from looking like one large piece of clothing was the white sash about his waist. But her eyes lingered on the red-stained bandage wrapped around his forearm.

"You're hurt," Aiyana blurted out. For a moment, he paused as if she had said something interesting before continuing his walk. "I take it the mission didn't go very well." He paused again and glanced over his shoulder. Irritation flickered in his red eyes before he looked away and she felt herself grin. "Told you you'd need my help."

Another pause but he didn't bother looking back this time. Then he disappeared into his bathroom, closing the curtain and turning on the shower. Aiyana sighed and migrated to the couch where she had left the book she had picked up to read. It had been a few days since she moved herself into Itachi's room. No one in Akatsuki had asked where she was sleeping, they only cared that she was still around. She spent time in the kitchen, stalking Konan so she could make an attempt to see Mingan but never could. She also made sure to be spotted in the kitchen or the "sunlight room" (the cave where the big, gaping hole was) at least once a day so Pain didn't bother her with a search party.

Other than that, she spent a good amount of time hiding in Itachi's room. She had picked up some of his books and finally found one suitable to her tastes and was already three-quarters through it. That was how Itachi found her when he walked back out of the bathroom, sprawled out on the couch and gliding through the words of one of his books.

She glanced up at him when he walked back and noticed that the bandage was no longer on his arm. Neither was a sleeve or a shirt for that matter. Her eyes wandered perhaps for a second too long, but she couldn't help but notice what a lean body he had. His eyes caught hers and she glanced back down to the book quickly, flushing. A second later, she was back to examining him.

He was covered in scars, some were small and some were a bit more noticeable. She figured the marks had to come from living the life of a ninja. Her interest was more in his newly acquired wounds. There was still a large gash on Itachi's arm though it was clear that the wound was beginning to close up. The area around his opposite shoulder was discolored severely and the arm moved stiffly.

She was on her feet in a second and attempted to grab his arm, but he pulled it out of reach. "You should bandage that again," she pouted looking up at the stoic man. "It's healing, but it's still open. It could get infected in this nasty cave of yours."

He shot her a red-eyed glare before going back to the bathroom and walking back out as he wrapped his forearm. "So how is Gills? He's stupider than you, so I'm sure he rushed head first into the fighting and is worse off than you."

Itachi's sharingan seem to spin angrily for a second before he looked away from her. "Kisame-san is being treated by Adrik-san over the next few days." That's right, on top of being a mad scientist, Adrik acted as the medic for injured Akatsuki members. Kisame must really be in bad shape in that case. He walked past her and found a shirt to slide over his head. Aiyana watched him and noticed that he favored his injured arm as he did so.

"Shouldn't you see that bastard, as well?" she asked casually as she flopped down on the couch. "Your other arm is pretty beat up too. What happened anyways?"

"Aiyana-chan," Itachi said firmly. "If you wish to stay in this room, then do not ask questions."

She perked up and then suddenly grinned. "You're letting me stay with you in your room?" His gaze darkened and he did not respond perhaps because he realized that he made a mistake. "What a surprise. I thought you'd kick me out the moment you came back. But I suppose you like having a woman in your room, right?"

Her eyes flashed with amusement at his startled expression. It disappeared after a moment and he quickly glanced at his bookshelf. "Do not flatter yourself. To me, you are only an ignorant girl."

"So you like naïve little girls better, huh?" Another angered look was shot at her. It lasted only a second before he sat down at his desk. She sat on the couch, legs curled up underneath her, with a teasing smile on her lips. "Perhaps it would be better for you to think of me as a thief."

Itachi didn't respond as he went through his papers and jotted something down. They sat in silence for a few minutes with the only sounds coming from Itachi's pen and Aiyana's book. She read the pages absently not really taking in the words and more curious about Itachi's writings. Finally she set aside the literature and walked up so she was hovering around his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" she asked peering over his shoulder to look at the paper. She didn't catch much before he flipped it over. "Come on, now, don't be like that."

Itachi sighed and stood making her take a few steps back. "Aiyana-chan, come with me."

"Where?" she asked watching him walk to the door. He glanced back at her, hand resting over the door knob. "I'm not going to just follow you around like a lost puppy, Itachi-san. Tell me where first."

"Lost puppy?" Itachi repeated, his eyes lifting up from her face to her ears in amusement.

Aiyana felt her face flush in embarrassment and she quickly turned around and went to his bed to search for her missing bandana. It embarrassed her that he had seen them, yet he didn't make a big deal out of them. He didn't stare as if she was an alien or a monster. In fact, it seemed as if he didn't care in the least. At last she found the cloth and quickly wrapped it around the top of her head, tying it in a strong knot in the back and suffocating her ears and hearing in the process.

Finally, she turned back to him and saw all traces of amusement had left his face. "We are going to see Pain-sama."

"Oh, really? What for?"

"You said you could steal the scroll, didn't you?"

Aiyana hesitated before letting a grin slide across her face. Did the Uchiha even know what he was offering her? It was more than a chance to be her abilities as a thief to the test, but a chance to test her abilities as an escape artist. Soon she'll be known as the female Houdini to all the Akatsuki members. "Of course I can steal that damn scroll," Aiyana said confidently. "What do you take me for? A ninja?"

Itachi didn't acknowledge her little joke at his failure. Instead he nodded and left the room with her trotting up behind him. In no time she had fallen in step with and intertwined her hands behind her back. He half expected her to blurt something out, but she remained silent the entire way there. Maybe she had run out of things to say to him.

Pain looked up when they entered and sighed. "What has she done?"

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "I haven't done—"

"I believe she can assist me in retrieving the scroll from Konoha," Itachi said. His calm voice penetrated her exclamation as easily as a scissors cut through paper. It had a tendency to do that.

His idea gave Pain pause. The Akatsuki leader steadied his writing hand as he looked over the two of them. "Why do you think that Itachi-san?"

"She has proven herself to be a very capable thief," Itachi admitted. She would have taken pride in his comment if he hadn't made it sound so factual. He said it as if he had read it out of a book with no emotion what-so-over.

Pain studied her again perhaps with a bit more scrutiny. "And you believe she'll succeed in a mission where two S-class criminals failed?"

"Aiyana-chan has more experience with these types of missions."

"You know, the breaking into government buildings and stealing things kind of missions," Aiyana inputted. It earned her a rather dark glare from Pain and an impassive one from Itachi. But, even with the dim lighting, she caught the warning in the Uchiha's eyes. It went somewhere along the lines of 'keep-your-mouth-shut'.

Pain thought it over before finally looking up at her. "Leave the room. I wish to talk with Itachi-san alone."

Aiyana raised a brow before following her new directions and walking out the door. The moment she was out, she squatted down, revealed one of her ears, and pressed it against the door. After all, if it was a private matter between Itachi and Pain that had to do with her, then she wanted to know. She could use the information later or maybe figure out why Akatsuki had so much interest in Haka.

"I trust you know what you're doing, Uchiha-san," Pain said. The scratching had resumed so he was probably writing again. "After failing to capture Kyuubi and retrieve the scroll—twice—I will not tolerate another failure from you, understand?"

"Yes, leader-sama," Itachi replied.

"We cannot afford to lose the girl either; she has valuable information for Akatsuki. So if you plan on taking her out of this base then keep her on a tight leash. I'm sure you can handle that." There was no response from Itachi, but she was sure he nodded or something at this part. "Very well then, you may leave tomorrow morning."

Itachi walked out to see Aiyana standing against the wall with her arms crossed and a bored expression. "How much did you hear?"

A sly grin spread across her lips. "Do you mind if I spend the night on your couch, Itachi-san?"

"Hn," was his response. For a moment, she paused and didn't know how she was supposed to interpret such a sound. Did it mean he cared? He didn't care? A yes or a no? Well, it had to be a yes because he didn't say anything when she followed him into his room.

Aiyana was giddy with excitement. She couldn't believe that the Uchiha had just handed her a chance to escape on a golden platter. She just needed to make an actual plan to escape now. Senpai would probably have a way to help. She just needed to trick the Uchiha into giving her Mingan and taking her to Amegakure.

"Also, I'm going to need Mingan." Itachi stopped and looked at her over his shoulder. One of his eyes said 'no' and the other said 'way' she was sure of it. "Look, I've never been on a theft without Mingan. I need him to come with us so this mission of yours actually succeeds." His eyes still said the same thing. Reluctantly, she added, "You can keep him on a leash the entire time." He still gave her the same look. "Itachi-san, if you don't let that wolf come with us then I guarantee this mission will fail! I doubt Pain would be pleased about that."

Finally, he closed his eyes and nodded, taking a seat on the couch.

Aiyana sighed in relief. "Oh, and one more thing, I need to stop by Amegakure."

His eyes opened again, red this time. Perhaps he had finally reached his limit. "What for?"

A grin was quick to appear on her lips. "I'm going to need a layout of this building we're planning to rob. Unless, of course, you know the layout by heart, Itachi-san."

"I do not," he admitted dryly as if admitting such a thing left a bad taste in his mouth. Perhaps he was just in bad mood because she was getting away with everything she wanted. She considered stealing his bed, but figured an injured man would at least need somewhere comfortable to sleep. She wasn't cold-hearted enough to steal from a crippled.

"Great, then I guess we'll go to Amegakure first." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Of course, I have no idea where that is from here, but you do, don't you, Itachi-san?" Aiyana glanced at the Uchiha and saw that his eyes were closed again, his head leaning forward so his chin rested on his chest. She blinked and then surprised herself by smiling. To think that the Uchiha could actually fall asleep through her chatting.

It seemed as if she was going to steal a bed from a crippled then.

* * *

><p>Cat's Notes<p>

Yay! Itachi is back. I think he'll be in every chapter from now on 3 And sorry for the late update, I totally forgot yesterday...plus my updates are catching up to my writing. To think I used to be like 8 chapters ahead...now I'm 3 :( And I just finished that third chapter today. But whatevs! I should be able to stay at least one chappy ahead of my updates.

By the way, if you're curious, the main reason Itachi agreed to take Mingan is because he wanted her to shut up. :P I would too, if I just got back from a mission...poor Ai-chan...


	20. Walking On Water

Wolf Thief

Chapter 20: Walking on Water

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><p>Aiyana didn't remember falling asleep with a blanket. In fact, she explicitly remembered 'being the nice guy' and using the blanket to cover the injured, exhausted Uchiha on the couch. So when she sat up suddenly and the blanket slid off of her, she immediately looked to the couch. Itachi was no longer there. Sighing, she settled back into the bed and stared blankly at the opposing wall.<p>

Weren't they planning on leaving today? Her internal clock told her that it was already the afternoon and Pain had suggested they leave in the morning. What had happened? Maybe Gills had spontaneously gotten better and was planning on coming with them? That would only make the trip hellish. Or maybe Itachi had changed his mind and decided he couldn't deal with her. Going to Konoha and stealing the scroll would require them to be in each other's company for at least ten days. Maybe he didn't think he could handle it.

The miserable wooden door creaked open. Aiyana immediately sat back up, allowing the blanket to slip off once again, and regarded the intruder. Of course, the room's resident couldn't be considered an intruder. Itachi glanced at her momentarily before walking to his desk. He had gone to see Adrik, she decided. And the medic had put Itachi's arm in a sling.

"So what's the damage?" she asked after a moment of awkward silence.

"We will remain here another four days," Itachi said without looking at her. He had opened a rather thick book of sorts and was glancing through it. But she caught the underlying words, _"until my arm heals." _He might as well have said it; it wasn't as if she was going to judge him for being human and getting injured.

Of course, she wasn't pleased with the idea of being trapped within the cave system for another four days. Swearing, she swung herself out of the bed, grabbed her disorganized and went to the bathroom. She had run out of clean clothes while at Akatsuki and was even being forced to repeat underwear, which was downright disgusting in her opinion but better than going commando in a cave filled with guys. At least her hair would smell good thanks to Itachi's shampoo. Maybe it would take away from the scent of the clothes.

Once out, she began her usual routine of raiding the kitchen. Of course, a certain blond returning from a mission had to walk in while she was searching the fridge for something other than bread. His bright blue eyes hardened at the site of her and one of his hands slipped into his clay pouch. Aiyana finally sighed, slammed the fridge door shut after stuffing into her mouth a piece of bread that nearly fell out when she turned around and saw the malicious blond. It was their first run-in since she attempted to use him as an escape vessel and it was obvious that she was still not forgiven.

"Deidara-chan!" Aiyana exclaimed after she got over her initial shock of seeing him at the doorway. "How'd that mission of yours go?"

A sly smile that she did not trust slithered onto his lips. "Normal, yeah." His voice contained a note of cruel amusement like he knew something she didn't. "I developed a new technique while on it, un. Do you want to see it?"

Aiyana stiffened as his hand withdrew from the clay bag. "I'd rather not; I don't have time."

His clenched hand opened to reveal a miniature dog. It took a few steps forward, sniffed the air with its clay nose and suddenly pointed its snout at her. Its leg lifted up and it let out a surprised little bark. Deidara grinned. "It's locked onto your scent, un. Now, where ever you go, it'll find you, Ai-chan."

She caught the concealed threat and frowned. "It's cute," she muttered grudgingly. "What do you intend to do with it?"

It was stupid of her to ask. Very stupid. Extremely stupid. Deidara let out a bark of laughter of his own and dropped the clay dog to the ground. Immediately, the dog ran at her letting out little yips all the while. She knew what it was going to do and quickly jumped over the counter in order to avoid it. The clay dog followed and damn was it fast. Grimacing, she ran so she was behind Deidara and still it followed. Apparently, the pyro hadn't been kidding when he said the little dog had captured her scent.

"Damn it, Deidara-chan, call your little bomb hound off!"

"Bomb hound, huh? That's a pretty good name for it, yeah," Deidara muttered while tapping his chin thoughtfully.

All the while, Aiyana played footsies with the little bomb in an attempt to avoid it. Unfortunately, she had been staring at the floor more than she should and she bumped into the wall. It delayed her an extra two seconds. The bomb hound deemed itself close enough and exploded by her feet. Aiyana let out a yelp of pain. It felt as if she had stepped on a box of pop rocks while barefoot.

"Son of a bitch!" she seethed, balancing herself on one foot so she didn't have to stand on the one that was most affected by the small blast.

Deidara laughed at her reaction and breezed past her down the hallway. "I'll let you off easy, Ai-chan, you did name my new bomb after all."

"You bastard!" Aiyana shouted after him, but he didn't seem to care.

Perhaps she should have called him bitch instead that way his gender would be questioned. The word formed on her lips, but he slipped around the corner. Damn her foot hurt. Maybe she should stop wandering around the caves barefoot. A shoe would have offered some protection from the bomb, but now her foot was sore, red, with a small patch of a burned area. She hobbled and decided to go soothe her burning foot in the cool, underground river. She didn't want to look like an idiot by sticking her feet in the kitchen sink or have to go back to Itachi and explain her new injury. Gritting her teeth, she used the wall as support and made her way to the river.

The wall was her cool support as she made her way there. She ought to be glad it was as strong and sturdy as it was. When she got to the opening, she collapsed on the edge, leaning her shoulder against the supportive wall and letting her feet dip into the cool rushing water. There was a drop there, she could bend her knees and would have her leg submerged up to her calf before her toes touched the smooth rock below. Swirling currents pushed against her skin, trying to drag her downstream with the ever changing water and soothing her recent burn.

Aiyana sighed and leaned her forehead against the cool wall. Stupid Deidara with his stupid bombs, did he get off burning her like that or something? At least she would be leaving soon, even if it was another four days in this shithole before she did so. That stupid Uchiha with his busted arm, delaying them like that. Why couldn't he just have her healing ability? It had been over a week since Adrik and that dumbass grass ninja had slapped her and the disgustingly colored bruise was already gone.

"Aiyana-chan?"

Aiyana started, jumping to her feet suddenly. It was mistake though. The rock beneath her feet was slippery and she felt herself falling. Her flailing arms managed to catch a hold of the stone wall and she steadied herself while glaring at the culprit of her heart attack.

"Itachi-san," Aiyana greeted, plopping her ass back onto the ground. She caught sight of his blood red eyes and quickly looked at the threatening water instead. His feet stood as soundly on the swirling river as they did on dry land; she felt a flare of jealously for that. "What are you doing here?"

"Walking," he replied bluntly. He must have snuck out of his room while she was in the kitchen.

Again her eyes flickered to his feet. It pissed her off that he could do such a thing and she couldn't. Such as walk on water and actually go outside the damn cave system. A part of her had been hoping that Kakuzu had concocted a crazy plan just so she could leave the cave! But Itachi here could leave whenever he wished because of his oh-so powerful ninja skills. It seriously pissed her off, so she'd get revenge.

Her fingers slipped into the water, following the commands of her mind. She could splash him; it would be easy. The red-eyed man would never suspect the attack and it would be nearly impossible to dodge once it was underway. A simple and sweet way for her to exact revenge on him. So she scooped her hand, propelled it forward, and doused the man in a shower of fresh water.

To say the Uchiha was shocked was an understatement.

"That was revenge," she stated looking up at him.

To her surprise, he was smiling. It disturbed her. She had expected anger, irritation, even a bit of aggressive violence towards her, not a smile that lit up his face. Even more disturbing was the fact that she was willing to admit he was handsome, with a smile on his face that is. It certainly was better than his typical solemn expression.

"Revenge?" he repeated, a light mocking tone in his voice.

Aiyana froze up not liking how he said the word. Not. One. Bit. He came closer and bent down. A part of her thought that he was going to splash her in return. Instead his thin fingers wrapped around her wrist and tugged her forcefully forward. She screeched and automatically threw her arms around his neck to keep from falling in. His free arm wrapped around her waist while the one in a sling remained as a barrier between them. She didn't see his face wince in pain as she tightened her arms.

"What are you doing?" she shouted, panic lacing her voice and cavern as the yell echoed. "Put me back!"

"No, you can walk back," Itachi stated calmly. Through her panic, she missed the slight amount of pain that laced the comment.

Her eyes glanced at the rushing water below their feet. Well, his feet. Her feet didn't touch the water since she clung so desperately to him. In the dim lighting, it appeared threatening, trying to swallow her and pull her away from the world forever. Panic struck her again.

"No! There's no way! I can't do it!"

"If you want to leave with your wolf, you must."

"What?"

"I cannot carry both your wolf and you out of the cave, and I am not leaving either one of you alone outside," Itachi explained. She looked up at him, shock clear in her eyes. He kept his typical stoic expression as he continued to speak. "Concentrate your chakra into the soles of your feet, make it flat and even."

Aiyana nodded, formed the hand signs behind his neck, and shut her eyes in concentration. The chakra ran like the stream down to the focal point in her feet. Then she imagined a knife spreading it out like it would the icing of a cake. After a moment of holding the chakra in place she heard Itachi talk again.

"I'm going to set you down. I won't let you drown."

"Of course not," Aiyana scoffed as her eyes snapped open. "Akatsuki needs me."

She untwined her fingers and grabbed Itachi's uninjured shoulder for support as her feet hit the water. Almost immediately her right foot sunk under and she yelped. The swirling water swirled and she tried to pull some chakra out of it. Or should she be putting more in? Shit, she didn't even know what she was doing wrong. Then her concentration was totally gone. With a startled scream she felt herself falling in.

Itachi quickly grabbed her shirt collar and pulled her half submerged body out of the cold water. Her arms immediately went back around his neck for support. "Shit, what was it? What was I doing wrong?" If she wasn't clinging so desperately to him, Itachi was sure she would be shaking him as she shouted out the words.

"There was too much chakra," Itachi explained, "and then you lost your concentration trying to fix it."

"Is there somewhere I can practice without almost drowning when I fail?" she asked with a sigh. It had sounded easy at first, but now she felt like she was solving a mathematical formula or something. There was a right amount, a certain amount, and it was going to take a bit of work to get to the point.

Itachi nodded and safely placed her back on dry land. Apparently carrying her must have worn him out since he didn't say a word as they walked. Perhaps she should find a scale and make sure all this lazing around and eating hadn't made her gain any weight. She had put forth quite a bit of effort into the figure she held and she didn't want to lose it while being held captive.

He took a hallway she had yet to discover. The cave system was like a maze and half the time she didn't know whether she had already traveled down a hallway or not. The hall they were in now was definitely one she'd never seen before. Soon the fluorescent lights gave way to unlit torches. Itachi paused for a moment to perform a giant fireball jutsu to light them.

Aiyana gaped at his back when the jutsu diminished. "Hey, Itachi-san, when I'm done learning this technique can you teach me that jutsu?"

Itachi picked up one of the lit torches and glanced back at her. "It is one of the Uchiha clan's hidden techniques."

She pouted knowing that was his way of saying that he had no intention of teaching her. After another few hundred yards, Itachi stopped in front of an entrance without one of the shitty homemade doors. He had to bend his neck slightly to get through, but she had no problems. The light from the hall was enough to illuminate the shore of the underground, but its full glory wasn't illuminated until Itachi lit the torches along the shore.

"Wow," she breathed, "it goes on forever." There wasn't enough light in the cavern to light the entire lake. About ten feet out she could see the formation of a large rock and beyond that was complete and utter darkness. "Have you ever tried to find out where it ends?"

"No," he answered flatly.

"You aren't curious about it?"

"No. You can practice here."

Aiyana sighed and nodded clapping her hands together and focusing on her chakra. When she felt she had a good amount on each foot she stepped forward and hit the gravel underneath the water. Groaning, she attempted the technique again and again and again. Eventually, Itachi excused himself and left. It wasn't until several hours later with little progress that she finally decided to turn in for the night.

But she'd be back the next morning.

* * *

><p><strong>Cat's Notes<strong>

Sorry for the delayed update. I had a ton of shit going on.

So, at this point in the story, Aiyana has been with Akatsuki for 2 weeks (give or take a day). Just in case your curious. :)

I apologize for the lame chapter ending...

That's about it...

Review Please!


	21. Arguments

Wolf Thief

Chapter 21: Arguments

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><p>Aiyana glared at the Uchiha sitting calmly on the rock. She only had one day left to master the technique and they both knew she had a long way to go. "If you're going to sit there then you may as well give me advice."<p>

Itachi sighed and walked up to her. "Focus your chakra." She raised a brow questioningly but did as instructed. "Now hold the amount you have. Don't add or release any of it." She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and did as he said waiting for his next instruction. He didn't give any. After a minute she popped open an eye curious as to why he'd stopped talking. "You released some. Start over again."

"Wait, what? What are we even doing? I thought I was supposed to be walking on water!" she snapped at him.

His red eyes looked up at her. "You cannot walk on water if you cannot keep a constant amount of chakra. Do it again."

Her face flushed but she folded her hands together again and repeated the process. Itachi made her keep going until she could hold a constant amount for fifteen minutes. Once she was able to do so, he gave her permission to attempt to walk on the lake's surface.

Aiyana nodded, spread her chakra over her feet, and stepped onto the surface. She stayed up. Grinning, she took another step and still didn't fall in. Looking forward, she noted the rock and decided to go for it. About half way there, she head Itachi call out, "Aiyana-chan." And then her concentration was gone and she fell underneath the surface.

For a second she panicked, knowing that if it was too deep then she'd end up drowning, but her feet found the rocky bottom and she managed to push her head up. The water came up to her chest and she was just glad that she wasn't completely submerged.

"Damnit, Itachi-san, you did that on purpose, didn't you?"

He waited for her to wade out of the water before addressing the question. "I did. Your concentration still needs work."

Aiyana glared at him and muttered obscenities under her breath while ringing out the bottom of her shirt. "You could have drowned me!" she shouted at him after a minute. "You know I can't swim!"

"The lake doesn't go deeper than five feet until you pass the rock." Itachi indicated at the rock she had been attempting to reach.

"Oh," Aiyana muttered under her breath. "But still! Now I'm soaked!"

Itachi stared at her with an expression clearly saying 'whose fault is that?' The thief swore again and walked back to the lake. Her anger, though, made it harder for her to concentrate and she couldn't keep the constant amount of chakra like Itachi had taught her to do.

"Perhaps you should give up. At the rate you're going at, you'll never master the technique by tomorrow."

Aiyana sighed and looked back at the Uchiha. "I can't abandon Mingan here."

Itachi caught the tired note in her voice. She was probably cold and hungry as well. As if to prove his point, she sneezed twice in row. Yet her hands clapped back together and she went for another go. Six steps into it and her left foot went under while her right was still on the surface. She groaned and let go of the chakra.

"Why not?"

"Why what?"

"Why not abandon him? It'd be easier for you to escape without the wolf hindering you."

Aiyana gaped at him. His suggestion was completely insane! Leave Mingan behind so she could escape? It was…it was…she didn't even have words for it! Did he not understand that Mingan was her companion? Even more than that, a friend?

"No, no, I can't do-" she sneezed unexpectedly "-that to him. I can't betray him like that!"

"Because abandoning him would be like how your father abandoned you," Itachi stated. He assumed that since she knew exactly how it felt like to abandoned she wouldn't want that pain inflicted on anyone else least of all a wolf that she had humanized.

Aiyana froze at his statement. Her eyes stared at him uncomprehendingly for a moment too long before her mouth finally formed words. "What the _fuck _are you talking about Itachi-san? It's not like that all! That _man _never abandoned me 'cause he wasn't even there in the first place!"

Itachi noticed how the conversation had shifted to her non-existent relationship with her father. Even if she refused to admit, Adrik's lack of presence in her life had left a mark on her. "You never wondered where he was?"

"What the fuck, Uchiha?" she shouted at him. Apparently being questioned about her father wasn't something she liked. "If you get a beige colored trench coat and a nice top hat, you'll look like the fucking PI you're acting like!"

"So you did?"

Aiyana clenched her fists and attempted to hit him. He caught it with his sling-less hand and managed to twist her around before she could throw another punch at him. "Damn it! Let me go!"

If anything, Itachi's hand tightened. "How did it feel being abandoned like that?"

"If you want to know so badly, then why don't you ask Sasuke-kun?" Aiyana growled at him. He pulled her arm further up and she hissed in pain before continuing. "I mean, his _brother, _the brother that he loved so much went insane and murdered his entire family!" She could feel Itachi's glare on the back of her neck. Maybe his sharingan would set her on fire. "If you want to talk to someone about abandonment, then there you go! He's the perfect example! If it wasn't for his crazed obsession of murdering you, then I'm sure he would have committed suicide by now."

"Shut up, Aiyana-chan," Itachi ordered.

"Why should I? You obviously want to know what it feels like to be abandon and I want to know how it feels like to abandon. Is there a certain thrill to it that makes you feel warm inside? Did you just not want the responsibility?"

Itachi pressed a knife against her throat. "Be quiet."

She swallowed, feeling the metal brush her skin. "Perhaps you shouldn't act like a fucking PI then."

The knife moved away and he released her wrist. She quickly whirled around and took a step back. Itachi regarded her with red eyes before looking away. "You're right. I apologize; I did not mean to pry or offend you."

Aiyana glared at him as he got up and began to walk away. After a moment he paused, shrugged off his cloak and tossed it to her. She caught it and stared at his retreating back knowing that she should probably return the apology but was too angry to do so.

Ten minutes after he left, she decided to take a break and go to the kitchen. Her concentration was completely gone thanks to the argument they'd had. She picked up his cloak and slipped it on hoping it'd abate some of the sneezing. The cold cave air and her soaked clothes weren't exactly the best combination. She figured Itachi had noticed and that was the entire reason he had left her his cloak.

Stupid bastard! First he says and asks the most insulting questions, then apologies for saying those things, and then as an afterthought gives her a cloak so she wouldn't be cold. It confused her and it was frustrating! Frustrating Uchiha, that's what he was!

"So are they giving these cloaks out to everyone nowadays?"

Aiyana nearly jumped out of her skin and looked up to see Adrik heading towards her. She stopped in her tracks. "It's not mine."

"Itachi's then?" Adrik asked. There was a bit of a suggestive note behind his voice.

She felt her face grow warm. "Why would you think that?"

"You two spend quite a bit of time together. Everyone's noticed." She frowned. "Tell me, what have you two been doing together?"

"Training," she said quickly. It was only a half-lie. "Pain-sama wants me to steal that damn scroll from Konoha and Itachi-san just wants to make sure I won't get killed." She grinned at him, pulling the cloak closer to her body. "I am important to this organization; they don't want me dead."

"Yet," Adrik corrected with a gleam in his eyes. "Enjoy your 'training' sessions then."

She smiled as he walked by. "Oh, don't worry, I do."

She was going to regret adding that last part in; she just knew it. But she had felt the need to mock him in some way. Instead, she knew that she had just cast more suspicion on Itachi and herself. Not that she could ever have a relationship with the Uchiha; he was way older than her. No, wait, that was wrong. She frowned and thought back to the book she had read on the clan. There was a little more than a five year gap between Sasuke and Itachi if she remembered correctly. That mean Itachi was only seventeen or eighteen! There was only a two or three year gap between them, yet he acted like someone who has seen the worst of life.

Either way, with a gap that small between them it was more understandable why the other Akatsuki members would think there was something developing between them. Damn it all to the hell, she was _so _going to regret those last words of hers!

Her thoughts were disturbed by a disgustingly high pitch noise that came from behind a distinct orange swirled mask. The idiot moved fast and she was caught in his black clothed arms before she could escape out of his reach. "Ai-chan! How nice to see you again!"

"Yeah, you too, Tobi. Please let go."

Thankfully, the overgrown child released her and she scrambled to the other side of the counter where it would be near impossible for Tobi to grab her into one of his 'death hugs'. "Tobi thinks Ai-chan is worried. What happened?"

She was sure that if his swirled mask was off, then Tobi would be making a rather, pathetic pouty face in her direction. And did she really seem down? There's no way that idiot would be able to tell. "Don't be stupid." Well, she just asked the impossible of a natural born idiot. "I'm fine."

"'I'm fine,'" Tobi mimicked in a high pitched voice that she guessed was a mimic of her own. It sucked, of course. "Are the words people use when they aren't."

She rolled her eyes at his sudden sage like words and shifted in the stool. "Unfortunately I have no other words to express my feelings, so believe me or don't believe me. I don't care."

"Tobi doesn't," he chirped. "Please tell big brother Tobi what's wrong, Ai-chan!"

"Will you leave me alone if I do?" Aiyana sighed.

Tobi nodded his head vehemently. "Once Tobi cheers Ai-chan up, he will leave."

She nearly groaned, but instead buried her face in her hands and sighed. It was the best she was going to get, so she just shook her head. "Fine then, cheer me up."

"Tobi has to know what's bothering Ai-chan first." This time, she did groan. Why was the village idiot being so insisted on why she was troubled? Did it really matter all that much? "Ne, Ai-chan, what's wrong?"

"Tobi is annoying Ai-chan, that's what's wrong. Get lost, will you?"

"But Tobi still hasn't cheered Ai-chan up!"

That damn, daft, idiot! Were the words 'get lost' not enough for him? Well, apparently the only way to get rid of him was to tell him what he wanted to hear. "Fine, alright. I got in a fight with Itachi-san. That's all, Tobi. Now please leave."

He didn't leave. He just leaned closer from the other side of the counter. "A fight with Itachi-chan? Was it bad? Did he hurt you?"

Aiyana snorted. The idea of Itachi hurting her seemed absurd and she couldn't exactly explain why. "No, he didn't hurt me. He threatened to when I brought up his brother, but I doubt he would have hurt me." She sighed and ran a hand through her wet hair. "I don't even get why he got so defensive when I accused him of abandoning Sasuke anyways."

Tobi laughed. It wasn't a chuckle, but a full on laugh. She frowned at him. "What's so funny, Tobi-chan?"

"You accused Itachi of abandoning his brother," Tobi stated after a moment. He sounded normal, not childish or annoying, just normal. And smart. His new voice sent shivers up her spine.

"Because he did!" she snapped at him. "What else do you call it when you murder your family and leave your younger brother to face the world alone? What else could it be?"

Tobi chuckled darkly and she began to think that he knew more than he was letting on. Aiyana sighed again and looked at the wall. If it was abandonment then it didn't explain why Itachi reacted the way he did. Her eyes shifted to Tobi and his unusual responses. "What do you know about Itachi-san? Why do you find this whole thing funny?"

The masked member laughed again, this time far more wildly. "Ai-chan, Tobi knows that Itachi-chan is probably very angry at you right now." She could feel his grin. "You should apologize to him. It wouldn't do to lose your one good relationship in Akatsuki."

"Why the hell should I apologize to him?" she shouted at the laughing man's retreating back. "He's the one that started it all!"

She groaned and buried her face in her hands. Unfortunately Tobi was right. Itachi was the only person in Akatsuki who was treating her remotely kindly and she couldn't risk losing that. Plus he had already apologized; he obviously knew the entire argument was his fault. It couldn't hurt for her to say sorry to him. She did piss him off with the Sasuke comments.

But why did she piss him off? He shouldn't care about his brother anymore.

Wait a minute, he _shouldn't _care. That meant he still did care. He still cared about Sasuke. But why? Why care for Sasuke when he had murdered the rest of the family? Why even murder the rest of his family?

"Damnit!" she hissed. "I'm missing something!"

_"Maybe you should apologize to the enigma before trying to solve it," _Haka suggested. _"Maybe he'll let something else slip when you talk to him again."_

Aiyana hated the idea of apologizing to him. She shouldn't, after all, he already apologized for his part. But still…she guessed it was just a pride factor. _Just get up and start walking. _

_"Maybe you should talk to him, Haka," _Aiyana suggested.

Haka laughed. _"Apologize to him first and then maybe I'll try and get some more information out of him. I do like puzzles and this Uchiha is proving to be a very interesting one."_

* * *

><p>Cat's Notes<p>

Hi all!Sorry about skipping last week, I was so far behind in writing that I decided to delay a week to try and catch up.

So stuff about this chapter: as you can see, Aiyana sucks at chakra control because I'm pretty sure she has like ADD or something...or she just sucks because of Haka's excess chakra that (since it isn't her own) is fairly difficult to control. More of that will probably be explained in a later chapter.

And as you can also see Itachi is a curious little bastard. 'Scuse me, he's just curious about his brother's feelings of being abandoned. Obviously he can't ask Sasuke himself, so he decides to ask someone that has been in a somewhat similar situation. Having no father while growing up is obviously a touchy subject for Aiyana. As is purposely abandoning Sasuke for Itachi. I think having Aiyana accuse him of doing it kind of angered him more than usual, since he does care for her in...I don't know what kind of way at this point.

And Tobi is an ass. :P

'Till next week!


	22. Conversations With A Wolf

Wolf Thief

Chapter 22: Conversations With A Wolf

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><p>Aiyana hesitated at his door. Should she knock or should she just walk in? She didn't want to piss him off more by walking in, but she didn't want to be ignored either. Well, she could knock and then walk in if he chose to ignore. Yeah, that could work.<p>

"Come in," Itachi called out the moment after she knocked.

She nearly sighed in relief before realizing that she still hadn't said the dreaded words. Nervousness swam through her as she walked up to him. Her throat was dry and she wasn't exactly sure where to start, so she shrugged off his cloak and handed it to him. "Um, here…thanks for the lend…"

Itachi accepted it and was mildly amused by her unadulterated anxiety. "Aiyana-chan, you can sit."

She did so, staying on the edge of the couch. Itachi was in his chair (she called it that because he seemed to prefer that specific chair) with a book in his lap. His black eyes were watching him with amusement. Maybe she didn't need to apologize, maybe he already knew.

"_Apologize, Ai-chan. It's a life lesson for you. When was the last time you ever said 'sorry' to someone when you knew you were wrong?" _Haka ordered.

"_Never…" _Aiyana admitted reluctantly. _"But I don't want him to be the first."_

"_It doesn't matter who it is, Ai-chan. And you know you have to do this."_

Aiyana sighed and looked down at her hands. "Um…Itachi-san…about earlier…I…will you stop looking at me like that!" Unfortunately for her, the amusement in his eyes did not disappear. Instead it seemed to increase. He knew what she was trying to do and found it funny. "Okay, look, Itachi-san, you obviously still care for Sasuke-kun, though I'm not entirely sure _why, _so…" she took a deep breath, "I'm sorry for all that stuff I said. Even if you did deserve it."

Haka laughed. _"You should have left that last part out."_

_ "Shut up, Haka. This was hard enough without your comments."_

Itachi was frowning at her. "You don't apologize often."

"I'm a thief," she snapped at him. "Do you want me to say sorry to every person I steal from?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "That's not what I…" Her glare made him smile. She knew what he meant and she didn't want to hear it. "I accept your apology. As I said before I was out of line asking the questions I was."

"Damn right you were," she grumbled sourly. "That reminds me, Haka wants to talk to you."

His head cocked to one side. "Haka as in Okhmahaka, the wolf demon? She can communicate with you?"

Aiyana snorted completely unable to hold back her laughter. Itachi frowned at her knowing he had said something wrong but not entirely sure what. After a moment her laughter abated. "Of course she can 'communicate' with me! It's like having a voice in the back your head that's always wrong instead of always right."

Haka growled. _"Says the fifteen year old, hormonal child."_

"Like right now she just said that I'm wise for my fifteen years." Itachi sincerely doubted that was what the demon said, if the demon was talking to the thief at all. "Also, Haka hates being referred to as a demon. She isn't one, you know." He was confused. She could tell by the way his eyebrows came together ever-so-slightly as he tried to figure out what she meant. "Why don't I let her tell you?"

She shut her eyes. Itachi felt her shift in chakra almost immediately. When her eyes opened again they were gold, far from the deep blue he was used to. Haka grinned at him, hers more toothy and malevolent then her human counterpart.

"So you think I'm a demon?"

"You're Okhmahaka?" Itachi asked as calmly as ever. Her grin only widened. "If you are not a demon, then what are you?"

He studied her, knowing that even without the obvious eye color change it would be quite easy to tell Haka and Aiyana apart by their mannerisms. It was the same face he had known for the past several weeks, yet there seemed to be minimal differences. Since her irises had turned gold like a wolf's, they also seemed to become sharper in shape, more angular and less almond like they normal were. The way the wolf grinned was also different from the girl; the wolf barred more teeth at him. And, though Aiyana always seemed to hold an aura of confidence and arrogance, the wolf spirit radiated it. Her movements were now more animal like—quick and yet still graceful—instead of Aiyana's lithe and silent style of movement.

Haka stretched herself out on his couch, lax and completely unaware of the danger she was in at the Akatsuki base. "I am Okhmahaka of the Western Forest." Her grin dropped a bit and she tapped her chin in thought. "Or perhaps it's was. After all, it's been well over three hundred years since I've been there." Her gold eyes darted to the Uchiha who caught and held her gaze bravely. The haughty grin returned and she leaned forward. "Uchiha-san, I am a wolf spirit, actually, more specifically a guardian spirit. I am not a demon and I'd prefer not to be grouped with such vile creatures."

His brow rose at her description of demons. "Like the Kyuubi?"

For a moment, she regarded him. "Yes, like the Kyuubi."

"How are you connected to him?"

Her expression was emotionless and lack of emotion was not something he was used to seeing on Aiyana's face. The thief wore her emotions like a book. It was unnerving. "Ask your leader. He clearly knows or else he wouldn't want to use me."

"You know why Akatsuki wants you then, but you haven't told Aiyana-chan?" Itachi asked bluntly.

"The reason why they want me doesn't concern her. She should only worry about the fact that they do."

_"What do you mean it doesn't concern me?" _Aiyana shouted at her.

Haka scowled at her. _"You cannot change the past, so you can't change the reason. It doesn't concern you."_

_ "They plan on killing me!"_

"You both could die here," Itachi stated.

Haka snorted. "As if I would let my _container _die." Aiyana snorted.

She said container with far too much force, but Itachi decided to disregard it. "Why don't you help her escape?"

"A few reason, first and foremost is that Ai-chan hasn't asked. Even if she did I'd refuse. It is her life and not mine and I will only interfere if there is an inevitable threat of death." Haka grinned at him. "I also wish to find out more about Akatsuki's objectives." Her grin grew. "And more about you Uchiha-san."

Itachi's expression remained impassive under the spirit's scrutinizing gaze. After a minute, she sighed and leaned her head into her hand. "Aiyana has been complaining about how quiet you are. I think you're good for her. She talks too much."

_"Haka!"_ Aiyana screeched. It was a good thing she wasn't in control or else a bright flush would have spread across her cheeks. The statement even startled the Uchiha who had been expecting a history lesson not a sudden match-making session.

The spirit chuckled. "And not even that can get you to talk." Once again, she leaned forward. "Uchiha-san, I've lived amongst humans for three hundred years and I still don't fully understanding them. You, in particular, are a complete enigma to me. Tell me why you did it." His eyes narrowed ever so slightly on the girl. "Why did you murder your pack, Itachi Uchiha?"

After a blink his eyes turned red drilling into the spirit's gold eyes. Her knowing smile didn't fade but seemed to become wider. He kept the eye contact as he said the next words carefully, "I did it to test myself."

At once the wolf spirit laughed. It wasn't a light laugh or one that only lasted ten seconds. It was a full on laugh. Once it subsided and she wiped away the tears that had formed at the corner of her eyes, she returned to smiling at him. "I can smell lies. Now, are you going to tell the truth, Uchiha-san, or should I just not even bother?"

_"Haka, don't lie to him! You can't smell lies!" _Aiyana chided the spirit.

_"Does it matter? Now that I've said it he'll think twice about lying to you."_

Itachi didn't answer. His expression returned to the typical bland one with black eyes. Haka sighed in disappointment.

_"Wait, is he really lying? How'd you know?"_ Aiyana asked. She had become quite good at catching lies by watching a person's body language. It was a useful skill she had acquired from her life as a thief, but Itachi didn't display any of the typical lying signs such as lack of eye contact (she couldn't tell about too much eye contact since he was always staring), his fists weren't clenched and his body wasn't in a defensive position, nor did he shift so he was facing the exit.

_"Yes. His heart speed up and there was a change in his tone at one point. Aren't those usual signs of lying, Ai-chan? I'm getting them out of your memory."_

_ "They are. It's just…damnit, this just gets more confusing by the second!" _Aiyana wanted to pull out her hair. She would have if she was the one in the driver's seat. _"Why lie about it? What could be worse than 'I did it test myself'? It's a horrible excuse anyways!"_

_ "Don't ask me. I may be able to hear heartbeats, but I cannot read minds."_

_ "There's something wrong with this whole Uchiha clan thing, Haka. I mean, Sasuke acts like his brother is a killing machine monster thing and that book I read supported this idea of him being crazed and in love with murdering people. But from what I've seen…he's not anything like that. I mean, he still cares about Sasuke! _Cares! _And for being an S-class criminal he's been insanely nice to me! _And _now he's lying about his reason for murdering his clan! It's just not adding up!"_

_ "Thinking about becoming a private investigator now, Ai-chan?"_

Aiyana wanted to snap at the spirit for her reference to earlier, but Haka's attention switched to the starring Uchiha. "You know, Uchiha-san, being a wolf spirit, I do have some very wolf like tendency. If you continue to stare at me like that I will consider it a challenge."

Itachi dropped his eyes to his book. "You were talking to Aiyana-chan."

Haka smiled at him. "I was."

He waited for a moment to see if she would expand on what they were talking about. When she didn't, he gave a nearly inaudible sigh and tapped his fingers against the cover. "Uchiha-san, you do remember that Ai-chan works as a thief? She is very adept at information gathering. One way or another, we will find out why you're lying to us."

Itachi's posture hardened as he brought his defensive gaze up to meet hers. "Okhmahaka-san, you never explained the difference between demons and spirits."

Her lips curled into a harsh snarl, distorting her fine features. "Is that an order, Uchiha-san?" He held her eyes and chose not to respond, both stupid and smart in her opinion. By holding her gaze he proved he wasn't scared of her, and by not responding, he neither denied nor affirmed her question. "I do not feel like telling you."

"It wouldn't happen to be that you were human once, would it, Okhmahaka-san?"

She let a low growl emerge from her throat. He was amazed that a human throat could even emit the sound. "Human? No, I was never human, Uchiha-san. And the closest to human I'll ever be is how you see me now. What you're thinking of is a ghost, not a spirit." Her teeth flashed as an angry hint; he refused to drop his gaze. "Spirits are pure chakra, formed of the earth to protect it. That is what we are, what I am. Of course, not all spirits follow the instructions of the earth that created it. That's how the demons were formed—they were spirits who disobeyed their calling."

"And you?" Itachi pressed. A child-like curiosity burned in his typically stoic eyes.

"You're far more curious about things than you let people know." Her head cocked to the right. "Someone's at your door."

Right on cue, there was a knock. Itachi shot a glance at the wolf spirit who merely smiled at him return before getting up to answer. Deidara did not look pleased playing messenger boy, but then again he was rarely pleased. In a gruff reluctant voice, he announced, "Leader-sama would like to see you."

"I will be there in a moment."

Deidara leaned to his the side so he glanced into the room. Aiyana sat on the armchair and waved pleasantly at him when he caught her blue eyes. "He wants her to come too, un."

"Hey, Dei-chan," Aiyana called to him. The foul-tempered blond glared at her. "Don't think you'll get away with your little stunt from earlier."

"Heh, you little—"

Itachi shut the door before he could finish the sentence.

"Why do you think he wants to see us?" Aiyana asked once the Uchiha turned back around to retrieve his cloak.

Itachi glanced at her. "I don't know. What stunt did Deidara pull?"

The thief smiled, stood up, and stretched. "Don't worry about it, Itachi-san. I'll get back at him before we leave."

"He was the one that gave you that burn on your foot," Itaschi stated after a moment.

Aiyana looked at him. She didn't know that the Uchiha had noticed. The burn was as good as gone now thanks to Haka. After a moment, she nodded. "Don't worry though. Like I said, I'll get my revenge."

His brows creased together. "Revenge isn't something you should pursue lightly."

"Whatever Mr. Sage," she muttered walking past him and out the door. "You've got an impatient leader to answer to, remember?"

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><p>Cat's Notes<p>

So, this is one of my other favorite chapters simple because Haka has a major role in it!

Obviously the origin of demons as explained by Haka is completely made up by moi. And there's more to it. Her relationship with the Kyuubi will _eventually _be explained. And Haka hates being called anything other than a spirit. She finds it insulting. (It's like calling your friend a monkey...in a serious manner)

That's about all I have to say for this chapter...and I can say you're gonna hate me next week...I apologize in advance...

Review por favor! And thanks to everyone who has reviewed! We've hit the 75 mark! Love you guys! :D

Hope you all had a great first day of advent! 'Tis officially the Christmas Season (and the most expensive time of the year~)

Till next week


	23. Mingan

Wolf Thief

Chapter 23: Mingan

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><p>Their walk was surprisingly silent. Something was occupying Aiyana's thoughts and Itachi, though curious, thought better than asking her what it could be. A part of him linked her silence with Haka's earlier comments. At some point, he had forgotten that Aiyana was a capable thief and therefore had the skills required to be a thief which included stealing information. His thoughts were shattered by a shriek (or maybe it was a squeal).<p>

"Itachi-san, did you see that?" Aiyana ran up to the intersection and carefully peered down to the left.

He had seen the long tailed, furry bodied creature dart down the hall, but didn't say anything. Instead, he just continued walking, taking just a small glance down the left hallway to see the animal staring him down. All of a sudden, Aiyana was laughing and pointing at it. The loud noise scared the creature and he scampered down the hall.

Through her laughter, he managed to decipher "weasel" and frowned. His name was always something people tended to make jabs at and he'd prefer it if Aiyana managed to avoid something so childish. Itachi continued to walk deciding to simply avoid all conversations about the animal he had let loose in the cave system. Or rather, Hidan had set loose accidently a week after his arrival at Akatsuki.

Aiyana ran up to walk next him. "So what's its name?" She grinned. "Or does everyone here just call it lil' Itachi?"

Everyone _did _refer to the weasel as 'little Itachi' and he had never bothered to tell them otherwise. What would the rest of Akatsuki think of _him_ naming a weasel? Then again, Kisame named his goldfish and threatened anyone who dared to make fun of him with death. He could probably do the same. As for a name, his eyes strayed to the thief.

"Klepto."

"Klepto?" Aiyana repeated. "As in Kleptomaniac?" He nodded and noticed her grin slide back into place. "I suppose I'll take that as a compliment, Uchiha-san."

Itachi raised a brow. "What makes you think he's named after you?"

"Oh? So you didn't come up with that name just now?"

He stopped and looked in the direction of the weasel they were talking about. "I did not."

Aiyana took a step forward and poked his chest with her finger. "You're very bad at lying when you haven't practiced it a million times."

His eyes narrowed dangerously but remained black. "What does that mean?"

"It means, Itachi-san, that you're a bad liar." She turned on her heel and continued walking only to pause a few feet away from him. "Unless, of course, you've been telling that lie constantly for five years. With practice comes perfection, right, Itachi-san?"

She tossed him a smile over her shoulder and noticed his eyes were now red. In the second it took her to face back in front, he had appeared there. Her smile was quick to disappear. "Aiyana-chan, I _did _kill my clan."

She tried to walk past him, but he blocked her path. "I'm not saying you didn't."

"Then what _are_ you saying?" he demanded. His voice never rose above its usual level, but he may as well have yelled at her. Again she tried to move past him, but he pushed her against the wall successfully trapping her there until she answered his question.

Aiyana sighed and met his eyes. "I thought you were a prodigy, Itachi-san. You haven't figured it out yet?"

His face came slightly closer. "I wasn't lying about the reason either. I haven't found a single person that has challenged me in a fight yet."

"Really? Not one? Is that why you try so hard to avoid fights?" She glared at him and, only for a second, her gaze flickered down to his mouth. He was ridiculously close to her. Enough to make her either snap at him to get out of her bubble or pull him closer and just…Just stop, Aiyana! Those were not thoughts that were supposed to be going through her head!

Something flickered in his eyes. Maybe he had seen that second of _feeling _(she wasn't quite sure what feeling yet) on her face. The step he took back was obvious. "I don't avoid fights."

A knowing smile slithered onto her lips. "Whatever you say, Itachi-san. I can definitely say that you avoid the truth like a plague."

"I don't—"

"Hey, un!" Itachi and Aiyana glance down the hall at the blonde who had shouted at them. "Leader-sama is getting impatient!"

Aiyana raised a brow at the Uchiha. "Told you."

Itachi frowned and decided to let the conversation go. It was clear she had no intention of changing her opinion at the moment anyway. Eventually, he'd have to figure out a way to convince her that he was telling the truth. She was far too suspicious for his comfort. And as she had told him nearly two weeks ago, suspicion leads to investigation. Investigation could lead her to the truth and he wasn't entirely sure what she would do with it if she found out.

Deidara stopped Aiyana at the door. "He wants to talk to Uchiha-san alone first."

Itachi nodded at Deidara and walked into the room. Aiyana scoffed, crossed her arms and leaned against the wall directly across from the door. She waited for the blonde to leave so she could eavesdrop, but he didn't. They stared each other down, Aiyana waiting impatiently and Deidara standing there grinning.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" she finally snapped after a long minute.

"This is where I'm supposed to be." Deidara flashed her a toothy, knowing grin. "Leader-sama doesn't want you eavesdropping."

"What's this about anyways? It's not like I've caused any trouble these past few days! And even if I did, it has nothing to do with Itachi-san!"

Deidara's look unsettled her. His expression said he knew something that she didn't and whatever he knew had something to do with what she just said. It had something to do with Itachi. "You've been spending a lot of time with him, haven't you?"

Aiyana frowned. "I guess you could say that. He's been helping me with a few things—"

"And he's letting you stay in his room with him, isn't he?" Deidara's accusing tone was obvious.

Her brows knitted together. "You seriously think I've been sleeping with him?"

The Akatsuki member shrugged, his coat rising and falling with his shoulder. "In all honesty, I don't give a shit what _dirty things _you do with that Uchiha." Aiyana felt her cheeks flush. "But everyone else does. He can't get attached to someone like you."

"We aren't doing anything like that!" Aiyana protested. "I'm not even interested in him like that!"

But there was that moment in the hallway. A moment when she had felt_ something_ towards the Uchiha that she couldn't exactly define as platonic. Deidara must have seen something in her expression that showed her insecurity because he began to laugh.

"Get your head out of the clouds, _Dei-chan._" She said his name mockingly in hopes of angering him out of the conversation. "Nothing will ever happen between us."

Deidara grinned. "It didn't seem that way in the hallway, _Ai-chan." _She bristled at the use of her nickname. "You two seemed awfully close back there."

Aiyana wondered if he had seen that moment—when Itachi had her against the wall and that _feeling _had passed through her. It was probably why he was so sure something intimate was going on between them. She frowned at him and crossed her arms, firmly saying, "There is _nothing _going on between us."

"Whatever you say, thief."

Aiyana suddenly felt like she was in Itachi's place. She wanted desperately to change Deidara's mind, but knew that no matter what she said, it wouldn't work. So she simply sighed and let the topic slide into silence. Only a few minutes had passed since Itachi had disappeared into Pain's office and she tapped her foot impatiently. Her eyes shifted back to the blonde who had taken to examining his nails.

"Hey, Dei-chan, do you know what happened to Kisame-san?"

Deidara looked at her. "His arm is broken."

Well, that explained why he wasn't accompanying Itachi and her on the mission. He'd be pretty useless with a broken arm. Actually, not useless but probably not as useful as he usually is, she remedied in her mind. Plus any enemy ninja would know that arm would be a weakness to the criminal.

"Do you know _how _it happened?" she asked, crossing her fingers behind her back.

The blonde grinned. She remembered that he didn't particularly like Itachi, so he'd probably be more than happy to gloat about the Uchiha's failures. "I'm not entirely sure, but from what Sasori-donna told me, one of them tripped the alarm. Apparently, a large number of ANBU attacked them and they were forced to retreat. Kisame's broken arm forced them to come back here."

Aiyana snorted. She knew they weren't going to get pass the defenses Konoha had set up around the scroll. Someone had already stolen it once and she doubted they would let it go missing a second time. Hopefully she'd be able to escape before she was forced to break into their building and steal it. Although she didn't doubt her ability, she knew that government buildings tended to be the most difficult to break into.

The door opened startling both her and Deidara. Itachi stood in the doorway and she could immediately tell something was wrong. He looked wearier than he did when he originally entered the room a little over five minutes ago. Without a word exchanged between them, Aiyana entered the dimly lit room.

Pain sat at his desk as usual, his violet eyes watching her as she came in. Something about Itachi's austere expression kept her from saying brash to the leader. Instead she let her eyes sweep the barren room. When they landed on the black furred creature curled by the side of the desk, she nearly died from the heart attack. It took her a moment to connect the name that went with the animal that no longer resembled it.

"Mi-Mingan," Aiyana stammered out. The wolf raised his head. The tip of his tail thumped lightly against the dirt. "Mingan!"

Her heart skipped a beat. . It was obvious that the wolf was sick. His fur had thinned out, lost its luster, and had become matted in certain areas along his back and sides; he had lost weight, too much weight, and his ribs clearly showed; his tail thumped but with far less energy than it usually did. Without thinking, she tried to rush to his side but someone caught her by her waist.

She had to be there, next to him. How did this happen? When did this happen? Why hadn't she done anything? All this time he had been suffering and she had been out training—learning from the enemy!

"_Aiyana-chan."_

It has her fault! She should have put more effort into finding him, checking on him. She should have known the enemy wouldn't keep their promise! After all, they weren't to be trusted. They were murderers after all. But what had she done? She'd abandon him! She'd didn't even see him for ten days! He must have been terrified.

"_Aiyana-chan, you didn't abandon him!"_

No, she most definitely did. She had done the one thing she swore she would never do. Left someone. Just left them with barely a thought about where they were, how they were doing. She had turned her back on him and—

Aiyana gasped when her back met the wall and tore her gaze from Mingan to Itachi's red demon eyes. "Aiyana-chan, stop struggling."

A part of her hadn't even known she had been struggling, but she disregarded the order and attempted to slither out of his grasp and run to the wolf. Itachi was much stronger than her though and held her still against the wall. For one second, she noticed Pain standing behind his desk, regarding her with cold violet eyes. _He _was the one who hurt Mingan. And suddenly all her hatred towards herself transformed into rage at the Akatsuki leader.

"What did you do to him, you fucking bastard? What did you do?"

Itachi flinched. She had practically screamed in his ear, but he still didn't let go of her.

Pain looked her disdainfully, like she hadn't yelled at all but asked the stupidest question in the world. "I have done nothing to your pet."

"Nothing! Look at him! He…" Her breathing stopped for a minute. _Nothing. _Something in the way he had said it seemed to hint at a double meaning and her mind found it. Pain had done nothing at all; he had neglected the wolf for God only knew how long. It could have been ten days since he last saw food! Yet it wasn't just starvation she saw in Mingan's eyes. He was sick with _something. _"Who…who did this to him?"

Pain raised a brow at his fellow Akatsuki member. "You're right, Itachi-san. She catches on faster than I expected." His eyes switched back to the panic stricken girl. "If you must know, I believe Adrik-san and Sasori-san were testing something on him. If you want more details, then you'll have to talk to them."

There wasn't a cruel smile on his lips or any sign that he was enjoying this psychological form of torture, but all Aiyana could think of him was _sadistic bastard. _Why on earth would she want to ask about what was _killing _Mingan?

_"Aiyana-chan, let me out."_

_ "No." _This was something she had to deal with, not Haka. She was going to hurt them, kill them for what they did to Mingan, for what they were doing to her.

_"Ai-chan, calm down!"_

Since she had stopped struggling, Itachi deemed it safe to let go. The moment he did so, he had to avoid a fist swung at his face. His eyes caught hers and for a second he thought of Sasuke. She had the same look in her eyes that Sasuke got when they had encountered each other. Quickly he pushed the thought out of his head and pinned her back against the wall.

"Damn it, let go! I have to—"

"You have to what, thief?" Pain cut off. "Do you really think you can hurt me? Or Itachi-san? Or anyone else in Akatsuki? We're all classes above you."

"_Aiyana-chan, he's right. You'll only end up hurting yourself. And then, how will you escape?" _Haka's voice of reason resonated throughout her and she stopped struggling.

_ "But they need to…Mingan, they hurt Mingan."_

Haka sighed. _"I know, Ai-chan, but you can't let Mingan die in vain. You _need _to escape."_

Aiyana stiffened. _"Mingan isn't going to die."_

_ "Ai-chan—"_

_ "He isn't!" _

_ "Ai, I am much older than you. I know you don't want to hear it, but—"_

_ "You're right, I don't want to hear it! So why are you saying it!" _

_ "Because you _need _to hear it!" _the spirit retorted. _"Mingan isn't going to make it through this!"_

_ "How could you say that?" _Aiyana shouted at her. _"He is going to make it through! He's strong!"_

_ "Ai-chan, I'm trying to help—"_

_ "I don't want your help!"_

_ "Don't be stupid! You need my help. You've always needed me!"_

_ "No, I haven't! You just want me to need you! You can't stand being useless but you always are!"_

Haka remained silent for a moment. Her voice was slow, angry when she spoke again. _"You're right. I don't. I apologize for offering my help in your time of need. I won't do it again."_

_ "Good! I never needed your help!" _

The spirit was gone, dwelling somewhere in the back of her mind where Aiyana could barely feel her. She brought her eyes up and meet Itachi's who was staring at her apathetically. He knew she was just talking to Haka and something wondered if he also knew it had been an argument. Her eyes flickered to the wolf that the spirit said was going to die. He wasn't, she was determined that he would live.

Her eyes came back to the Uchiha. "Why?"

Itachi didn't answer. Pain walked over towards them though. "Why? It's simple really. I couldn't let insolence like yours go unpunished, no matter what advantage the wolf may put us at with you. You seem to think that us having the wolf gives you the ability to do anything you want in my base, with my members." For a moment, his eyes flickered to Itachi. "With your upcoming _mission_, I cannot hurt you. But it seems as if hurting the dog was a better choice anyways."

"Wha-what are you talking about?" Aiyana stammered. "I haven't done anything since trying to escape! I swear! I haven't even come up with another plan yet! And it's not like I can take advantage of anyone here. Everyone hates me!"

"Itachi-san, it seems as if she still doesn't quite understand." Pain looked down at her derisively. Some part of her recognized that Itachi had moved away. "Kill the wolf."

Panic seized her. Her breathing stopped. Kill? Kill Mingan? Her eyes focused in on the wolf. Itachi was next to him. There was a knife.

"No!" Aiyana screamed. "No, no, no! You can't hurt him!"

She made to run to the wolf, but Pain grabbed one of her arms, twisting it painfully behind her back. She whirled around attempting to his him with her free hand. It backfired when he caught it and twisted both arms behind her back, forcing her to face Mingan and Itachi. . Mingan snarled at him, lifting his head in an attempt to seem threatening, but quietly laid his head down when Itachi gazed at him with his sharingan

"Itachi-san please! Don't do this to him!"

Haka stirred within her. _"Aiyana-chan, he's doing us a favor."_

"No, no, he's not!" Aiyana screamed out loud. "Itachi, stop it!"

"_Ai-chan, let me take over."_

"_No! You won't try to save him!"_

Haka didn't reply, but didn't leave either. Instead she tried to force her own calming thoughts through Aiyana, but with no success. Itachi's hand faltered for a moment. She thought that maybe he'd look back at her and stop once he saw she was crying. She was crying. She hadn't even realized. The knife was near Mingan's throat. Too close. The words died in her throat and she looked away.

Pain released her and she stumbled forward a few steps. It was enough to bring Mingan into her view. Her throat clenched and she felt like she would throw up. Her eyes looked to Itachi. His eyes were as red as the blood on the knife.

"You killed him."

Itachi kept his gaze on hers. "Yes."

It hadn't been a question. Her head raised an inch in defiance. _Don't break in front of them. _Without another word, she turned and left the room. Somehow the action was more shocking than anything she could have said. Once out, she began running. She had to leave. Now. She had to get out. Her feet brought her to the river without thought. Gasping, she waited to catch her breath before clasping her hands together and gathering chakra to the soles of her feet. She kept her breathing even, trying to clear her mind of everything but chakra control.

Walking on moving water was far more difficult than walking on still water. The shifting current beneath made her want to change the amount of chakra she was holding to move with it. Logic told her that was a stupid idea. She walked hesitantly, taking her time with each step and thinking only about the next step. If her mind wandered than the possibility of her losing her concentration was high or if something outside distracted her, like Itachi calling her name, resulted in falling in as exhibited by the last time she was distracted.

"Aiyana-chan!"

There it was: the distraction. Her head turned back to look wide-eyed at the Uchiha, the murderer, still on the shore and she next thing she knew, she was under the water. Her mouth opened to scream, but water rushed in instead of air. Water rushed around and she desperately kicked for the surface. She could see it, but the current was strong. It tugged on her, pulling her back down to the rocky bottom, pushing her around.

Her lungs burned. She hit a sharp rock. Her mind was spinning. This was it. Something was tickling the back of her mind, words that her oxygen deprived brain couldn't recognize anymore. Her eyes cast up towards the surface as the water continued to push her downstream. She'd never reach it again.

_ I'm really going to drown._

* * *

><p>Cat's Notes<p>

**I am so fucking sorry! **I'm going to be a horrible, horrible vet in the future! ;_; Never bring your wolves to me! (Hopefully none of you guys will own wolves considering the fact that owning exotic animals outside of sanctuaries/zoos should be illegal.) Again, I know I'm a terrible fucking person. Feel free to hit me with any heavy virtual object you can think of. I'm terrible...right when things were going so swimmingly between Aiyana & Itachi.

Kleptomania: An obsessive impulse to steal regardless of economic need.

This update is really off from my usual Sunday update. I kind of forgot & it's my exam week. So my next update will be NEXT **THURSDAY. **My next update will also be the** last update of the year**! No, that doesn't mean the story is ending, it just means that I won't be posting a new chapter until after Jan 1st.

Anyways, I noticed some of you guys had questions that I haven't gotten around to answering. My bad. Well, here are the answers now. :D

**ShiningHeart of ThunderClan: **Itachi refers to Aiyana as Aiyana-chan only because she's a girl & she's still pretty young (remember, she's only 15...sometimes I forget...) If this story had taken place when she was a few years older then he'd probably be referring to her as Aiyana-san. And Haka does prefer to be called Haka! Nice catch :) But she's still wary of Itachi (interested in him but wary).

**Eternal Cat Moon: **Yup, Aiyana still wears her headband. She's usually wearing it unless I state other wise in the story. If she hadn't been wearing it I'm sure we'd never hear the end of if from Deidara.

**Thanks everyone for the reviews!**


	24. Escape Attempt II

Wolf Thief

Chapter 24: Escape Attempt II

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><p>Aiyana woke up gasping. Her entire body burned, most especially her chest, her lungs desperately trying to make up for lost time. Quickly, she sat up and took in her surroundings. The water had pushed her onto a shallow bank, in the main entrance of the Akatsuki cave. She had been lucky. It looked like the river went back under after passing through the cavern. If she had gone through there…<p>

_"Aiyana-chan!" _

_"Haka?" _Aiyana asked.

_"You idiot! If you wanted to kill us you could have picked an easier way than drowning! Thank God I managed to get us to shore!"_

_ "You…? You swam to shore?"_

Haka huffed. _"Barely, your body could hardly take any physical movement at all. Damn fragile humans."_

Aiyana let out a sigh of relief. She owed the spirit her life, again, and thanked any of the gods that existed that the spirit resided within her. _"How long was I out?"_

_ "Only two or three minutes."_

"Aiyana-chan."

Aiyana's head snapped up to meet the Uchiha's red eyes. _Murderer. _Immediately, she scrambled to her feet and swayed a bit from the effort it caused her. Nearly dying took a lot out of a person. Itachi reached out to steady her, but she quickly took a step away from his outstretched hand. He let it drop while eyeing her with obvious concern.

Another figure appeared at the top of the waterfall. She couldn't tell who it was because the cloaked silhouettes all looked the same—mostly. "Did you find her, Uchiha?" The voice, though, was definitely Deidara's.

"Aiyana-chan, you can't run from this," Itachi said, infuriatingly calm as always.

"Run from _what?_" she demanded in a low hiss. Something inside her already knew the answer though. She couldn't run from him, from the fact that he was a murderer and not the person she thought he was, from Mingan's death, at his hands.

"You know what I mean," he answered.

Of course he knew that she knew. He knew _everything _after all. Her scowl deepened. "In the very least I can run from here."

Aiyana barely made it four steps before an arm wrapped around her waist, stopping her in her tracks. Her entire body recoiled at his touch and she managed to jerk out of it. _"Don't touch me!" _

The shrill scream echoed around the cavern and shocked everyone into silence. Itachi's emotionless mask returned as he gazed at her. Her arms crossed around herself, making a barrier between them. It was Deidara's laughter that broke the awkward staring contest. He had placed himself behind the Uchiha, grinning at her.

"Take her, Deidara-san," Itachi ordered.

"Oh, so now you're giving me orders and taking orders from her, un?"

"I'm avoiding a fight," Itachi stated. "She is less likely to fight against you than me."

The blonde grunted and stepped forward. Aiyana quickly stepped back in turn. "I'm not going back there."

"We can do this the hard way or the easy way, yeah, thief." Deidara grinned, stepping forward so he was closer to her than Itachi. She took another step back and glanced at the cave entrance. If only she had something to serve as a distraction, something to confuse them and give her a chance to get out of the cave and lost in the forest. A jutsu, she knew a jutsu. "I prefer the hard way."

Then that's exactly what she'd give him. Aiyana formed the hand signs as quickly as she could. Deidara didn't have much time to react, but Itachi managed to jump away. The loose dirt around them created a whirlwind, spinning as Deidara tried to figure out exactly what was happening. Aiyana hoped that she could outrun the Uchiha to the trees.

Unfortunately, she had no such luck. Itachi appeared in front of her before she could even leave the cave.

Then the world went black.

* * *

><p>Black.<p>

Aiyana immediately sat up. A rope bit into the skin around her wrists. Her head felt heavy from the blown she had taken from the Uchiha. There was light to her left, outlining the door that she'd bet was locked. She gave her eyes a moment to adjust to the limited light and glanced around the room. It was small, only the size of closet, with nothing inside it except her. Standing up, she found a low niche where she could easily hook the ropes to. Pulling up eventually frayed the ropes enough for her to squirm her wrists out of them.

They weren't smart enough to get rid of her extra set of lock picks. She sighed in relief as she pulled them out of her hair one by one. Pressing an ear against the door, she noted that there was no one outside. At least, no one she could hear. The handle didn't budge when she tried and there was no key hole on her side of the door. It was probably why they chose to put her in that room.

Screws were always a good way of opening a door, but taking them out would make the door fall on the ground and they would know she escaped sooner. Her second choice was the deadbolt. Not as quick as taking out the screws on the opposing side, but it certainly left less evidence of her escape. Kneeling down, she set herself to work in the dim lighting. It took several minutes, concentration, and a steady hand, but she managed to hold the bolt and latch in place and pull on the handle.

Free.

Well, sort of. She needed a way out of the cave system. She didn't want to risk the main entrance being guarded and there was no way she'd be able to climb the walls of the sunlight room. There had to be another way out.

The lake.

Quickly, Aiyana began to follow the route to the underground lake. Her ears stayed erect and alert hoping that she would avoid any members. She kept pressed against the wall knowing that it didn't make much of a difference either way. Relief flooded her when she successfully made it into the primitive hallway without being spotted.

The torches weren't lit. Every time she came to practice she had brought Itachi along with her to light the torches. No Itachi meant no light. Not that she'd go near him now anyways. He had murdered Mingan.

Mingan.

Her chest tightened at the thought of the wolf. Tears were automatically brought to her eyes. She had to stop for a moment to collect herself.

_No, don't think about him now. Mourn when you get out of this death trap._

Taking a deep breath, Aiyana entered the cavern. Itachi had said he had never explored the cavern, but the same couldn't be said for the other Akatsuki members. Either way lingering at the shore wasn't going to do anything for her. Gathering chakra didn't take as long as it usually did it, maybe she was getting better at it, but the fresh memory of almost drowning stayed at the forefront of her mind. Her first few steps were tentative. Once she was sure she wouldn't fall in, she placed a hand on the wall and followed it.

In no time she couldn't see a thing and the only thing she could hear was the slight splash of her feet hitting the water. Without a light, her hand was the only thing guiding her. Still, she was glad that she didn't have a torch. That way if an Akatsuki member came looking for her in the cavern, they wouldn't see anything. Though she was a bit doubtful that they'd look in the cavern in the first place.

Her hand slipped.

"Shit!"

The curse left her as she tried to steady herself and looked at the darker than surrounding black wall. A cave entrance could be considered a stroke of luck. Aiyana slipped in and stumbled when she found herself walking on land again. Hesitantly she placed a hand on the wall and felt extremely smoothed stone in place of the typical rough rock.

"Damnit, why don't I have a light when I need one?"

As if her voice called it light flooded the cave. Quickly, she turned around to face the entrance where the figure of a man holding a torch stood. He wasn't wearing an Akatsuki cloak, but she immediately recognized him as Kakuzu. Some part of her felt relieved that it hadn't been Itachi, the murder, who had found her. Either way, though, Akatsuki had once again found her.

"Well, thief, I should have expected you of all people to discover my bloodstone source."

"Bloodstone?" Aiyana repeated in surprise.

Her eyes scanned the new cave, which she discovered was about the size of the small room she had previously been placed in and a complete dead end. The walls were covered in a smooth black stone speckled by red. It looked like someone had been murdered and their blood had splattered the walls. Without realizing it, Aiyana burst into laughter. The Akatsuki had bloodstone hidden in their backyard. The irony was just a little too much for her. And, of course, Kakuzu the money monger had been the one to find the stash. The red splattered, black stones had probably called to him in his sleep.

"Not the most valuable gemstone in the world, but certainly a way for quick cash." Her laughter seemed to irk him and he held the torch higher. "Now I think it's time we headed back. You still have a mission to go on."

The laughter died on her lips and the echoes quickly followed. Aiyana stiffened and glanced over the member. "I'm not going back there. I'd much rather die."

"Unfortunately you're much more valuable alive."

Kakuzu grabbed her arm, pulling her towards the lake. Aiyana used the sudden closeness to reach into his weapons bag and draw out the first thing her hand grabbed. She wasn't sure if it was luck that had her draw out a kunai with an explosive tag on it. Either way she didn't pause to think and threw it right at Kakuzu. Instead of catching it, he dodged and the kunai hit the wall behind him, exploding. Aiyana pushed away from Kakuzu and was forced into the cave by the explosion whereas Kakuzu was shoved out.

And then the entrance crumbled into itself.

In a span of three seconds she had successfully trapped herself in a small cave without a light or any provisions.

In a span of six hours she found herself facing death, again

Maybe she was just meant to die.

Well, though she had claimed she'd prefer death over Akatsuki she certainly hadn't been telling the truth. She'd much rather live as long as she could and escape. Which is why she immediately threw herself against the crumbled rocks, pushing them aside and hoping that she'd his that one critical rock that made the rest fall away.

On the other side of the wall she could hear coughing and splashing. Kakuzu had recovered from his landing. Silence followed the movement until she heard laughter, clear as a bell. Kakuzu was laughing. "Well, thief." His voice snuck through the cracks between the rocks. "It seems as if you have successfully trapped yourself in there. It saves us some work. I'm sure Itachi will come pick you up in the morning."

Aiyana felt her throat clench. He was absolutely right. With the rock slide the explosive had made she had created her own prison. Tears pricked her eyes again and a very quiet "fuck" left her lips. At least she wasn't going to die in the cave, but she certainly wouldn't be escaping anytime soon either.

Her fingers let the small rock she had been moving drop back into its place. There was really no point in her trying to escape. Some small part of her protested the idea of giving up but she was resigned to spend the night in the small cave. Her mind mulled over Kakuzu's last words. Itachi would come get her. Her stomach churned at the idea of seeing him, but she knew what it meant. The mission to retrieve the scroll was still a go.

She still had a chance to get out.

* * *

><p>Cat's Notes<p>

Yesh, this is the last update of the year! I think it's a good place to stop. I mean we still got half a story, but the other half is like the 'Scroll Retrieval' Arc or something along those lines...Anyways, the world is ending in Aiyana's mind. And she's trapped in a cave for the night. Suuuuccckkksss for her. A bit shorter than my usual chappies, but that last chapter was ridiculous loooonnggg.

In any case.

**Happy Christmas! Merry New Year! **Dream of a white Christmas if your from the South (like myself, but I'm going up North for the break) or a sandy-beach Christmas if your from the North. Get lots of presents. Wish Baby Jesus a Happy Birthday! Get wasted! (I only support this if you are in a different country or in college. Once your in college it doesn't matter how old you are, you drink...lots...) Do something exciting! **Enjoy your break :)**


	25. Release

Wolf Thief

Chapter 25: Release

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><p>The rocks clattered against each other, some splashing into the lake and drowning. A bright fire glowed between the growing cracks. So they finally came to get her, she thought dryly. It must be morning then.<p>

Aiyana sat up stiffly. Her back hurt from lying on the hard, cold stone. Her mood was sour and the last person she wanted to see was that murderous Uchiha. All last night, in what sleep she could get in her uncomfortable prison, she dreamt of Mingan, of the pain and loneliness he had gone through, the look in his eyes before he had died, how she could have stopped it. The wolf haunted her.

The opening was finally big enough for the Akatsuki member to walk through. It was Itachi. Aiyana clenched her teeth as she looked up at him and he stared down. "You look pathetic."

The words hit her like stone.

"_Excuse me?_" Aiyana screeched. Her high pitched voice echoed out over the lake. Quickly she scrambled to her feet and jabbed a finger at him. "What the fuck does that mean, Uchiha-san?"

Itachi grabbed her wrist pulling her closer to him than she cared to be. Her mind noted that the sling had come off and the arm that had been in it now held the torch. "It means, Shijo-san, that you lost your pet and then control. Those stunts you pulled in order to escape were both foolish and futile. Look at where they got you."

She felt her face flush and yanked her wrist out of his grasp, rubbing her free hand on it. "Don't touch me you murderous bastard. You knew how much Mingan meant to me. He wasn't a pet! He was…he was…"

"I forgot. He was your _only_ friend."

Aiyana growled at him her anger curling her fingers into fists. "Why did you do it, Uchiha-san?"

"It's simple. I was ordered to."

"Ordered?" she repeated breathlessly. "You took a life just because someone told you to do it?" Itachi's face remained blank in the fire's light. Her breath returned to it and the expelled it all by yelling her next words. "What kind of bullshit is that! Who the fuck murders someone because they were told to?"

"A ninja does."

"A ninja does," she repeated in disbelief.

Her blue eyes met his. It was there in his eyes, the darker, less renowned side of being a ninja. Blood red like the blood he had spilt in order to protect his ideals. Would she have done it? Would she have been able to take a life at the orders of another? It would have been her life if she hadn't been kidnapped by Itachi, if she had chosen to stay in Konoha. Could she have done it as easily as the Uchiha did?

"Why? Why were you ordered to…" Aiyana took a deep breath and Itachi waited for her to say the words. "Kill Mingan?"

"It is not my place to question my orders," Itachi answered mechanically. She felt like this wasn't the first time he had served as a prime example of a ninja. This wasn't his first time educating the ignorant on the darker life of a ninja.

"So you just follow the leader? You don't ever wonder where the orders are coming from or why?" She couldn't believe him. Ninjas weren't just machines without thought. She wasn't, couldn't, be someone like that. And Itachi, the enigmatic man who was clearly a genius, couldn't be like that either. He just couldn't be.

Itachi's glare seemed to harden. "No, I don't."

Disappointment welled up inside of her. "Do you not think for yourself, Itachi-san?"

His eyes were red and she couldn't determine if it was the fire or his sharingan. He took several steps forward backing her into the bloodstone wall. "You don't understand what it means to lead the life of a ninja. You could never understand. In this world, orders are orders. They are meant for the greater good."

"And killing Mingan helps the greater good how?" she challenged pushing off of the wall and moving closer to him despite her better judgment. She wanted to show him that he did not intimidate her. Itachi clenched his fist and took a step back unable to come up with a reasonable answer. Her blue eyes hardened and she felt the anger that sat in her stomach double and weave into her words. "You know what, Itachi-san, I had trusted you! I trusted you and then you killed him! You killed Mingan!"

Itachi met her eyes again. "That is your own fault. You should know better than to trust a ninja."

Aiyana stared at him, eyes wide as she realized it was her mistake. Her mistake had been trusting him in the first place. She gritted her teeth and quickly looked away as she felt hot tears begin to form. Why had she put so much trust in him in the first place? It was his fault, seeming so kind and understanding when she was trapped in a hellhole.

Her eyes rose up to meet his again. "It's your fault! You tricked me into trusting you!"

His red eyes narrowed. "I did no such thing."

"No, you did! You were nice to me when no one else was! You saved Mingan before! You've let me escape before! You let me stay in your room so I wouldn't have to deal with that man! You made me trust you! Why would you do that?"

"I never did any of that with the intention of making you trust me."

"Then why did you do it in the first place?"

Itachi remained silent and she quickly looked away to wipe the tears that were forming in her eyes. "Aiyana-chan." Her name was soft on his lips, a weary whisper. She brought her gaze back up to him, her shoulders squared and prepared for anything. "We must leave. The others are waiting for us."

He had blatantly ignored her question. Aiyana wasn't entirely sure if she should be relieved or angry that he had done so. The argument had worn her out and his response made her more and more distressed. She wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to know the reason why he had helped her so much. But his last statement concerned her. She hadn't been aware that other Akatsuki members were coming with them on the mission.

"What others?"

Itachi paused for a moment. "I'll tell you once we're off the lake. Remember your chakra control."

Aiyana scoffed. As if she could forget the chakra control after the pains she had gone through learning it. Itachi easily cleared the rubble and waited for her on the other side. Of course what he had made seem relatively easy was far from relatively easy. The rocks shifted under her weight and she had to prance quickly from one to the other to avoid slipping. It was on her last step she realized her mistake. The rock wasn't stable enough to hold her weight for long and she hadn't placed chakra on the bottom of her feet yet. In other words, she was almost guaranteed to fall into the water.

Almost. If Itachi hadn't caught her around the waist. "I thought I told you to remember your chakra control."

She felt her face flush and jerked back only to flail and have to grab a hold of him to keep from falling again. "I didn't! I just didn't have a chance—what are you doing?" She accepted the torch without thinking too much about it. Next thing she knew her legs were out from under her and she was being carried. "Itachi-san! Put me down! I thought I told I didn't want you to touch me!"

"It'll be faster this way."

Definitely faster considering she had yet to master the art of running on water. Itachi certainly had and she was glad the torch only illuminated them. Seeing her surroundings probably would have resulted in another bout of motion sickness. Within minutes he placed her down on the shoreline of the lake. Aiyana huffed and brushed a strand of her hair out of her face waiting until it was safe to use her voice again.

"Do _not _do that again, Uchiha-san!"

She was shaking and prayed that in the dim lighting he failed to see it. Every part of her body that he had touched burned. Burned with disgust, she reminded herself. The hands that had touched her had been the very same hands that had murdered Mingan. They had _his _blood on them. They had been touching her. Aiyana crossed her arms over her chest hoping the posture appeared more defiant than defensive. Itachi had begun to walk again without responding to her order.

"We're off the lake. Explain who is coming with us."

"Aiyana-chan, I do not take orders from you."

To her ears Itachi actually sounded a bit peeved. Good. "I apologize. I forgot you only take orders from abusive, insane criminals."

Itachi stopped and turned to face her. "Leader-sama's goal is to bring peace."

Aiyana snorted. "Yeah, through what methods? A massive all-consuming war that will kill more than it will save? Sounds like a great way to bring peace to me."

"Not through war. Through the presence of a common enemy." Itachi stated apathetically. Common enemy? She frowned and crossed her arms hoping that it wasn't obvious that she didn't understand. He did catch on though. "I suppose the concepts of sacrifice and unity are too complex for a selfish thief."

Her jaw nearly hit the floor. Itachi had just _insulted _her! She completely lost her voice unable to come up with a reasonable comeback. After all, it wasn't every day that she managed to irritate him enough to actually get him to insult her. Seeing that she had nothing else to say, Itachi began to walk again. Dumbstruck, she followed. Her mind still mulled over the insult. Sacrifice and unity. Peace through a common enemy. He sounded like a preacher.

Certainly not something she'd expect from a man who murdered his family.

And she was back to that old topic again. Why had he murdered his family in the first place?

"Itachi-san, you joined Akatsuki to bring peace, right?" Damn, she actually sounded timid. It was because she was still surprised that he had the ability to insult people.

"Yes, Shijo-san."

Itachi answered without looking back at her. The use of her last name made her flinch. It really shouldn't bother her, she thought. He was the man who killed Mingan. The further space between them the better. Yet there was something about _him _being _angry _with _her _that felt wrong. He wasn't the one who had his friend murdered or the one that was kidnapped or the one being forced into a mission and organization that she wanted absolutely nothing to do with. Itachi shouldn't be angry. Least of all he shouldn't be angry with her.

And she wanted to provoke him all over again. _"Ai-chan, let it go now. Itachi Uchiha is a dangerous man."_

"_Then why do I feel like he doesn't want to hurt me?" _

Haka sighed. _"Then be a stupid girl."_

Aiyana rolled her eyes. "Why is it, Uchiha-san, that a man who single-handedly murdered his family with the goal of testing his limits wants to bring peace? It seems kind of contradictory, doesn't it?"

Itachi sighed and stopped again. "Aiyana-chan…"

"Unless of course one of his goals is a lie! He either didn't murder his family with the intention of testing his limits, or he doesn't intend to bring peace! But from the conversation I just had with him, it seems he's pretty intent on bringing peace to this shitty hell-hole."

Aiyana eyed him waiting for a response. Another sigh escaped him. "I don't know how to convince you that—"

"You won't. Just admit that it's a lie."

"I will not admit it's a lie because it isn't." Itachi stared her down his eyes once again glowing red. "Perhaps, Shijo-san, you should stop your insistence that it is a lie before you end up hurt."

And now he was threatening her. Amazing, insulted and threatened by Itachi Uchiha in one day. "Why did you tell Sasuke that lie? What could be worse than your own brother murdering your family for the hell of it?"

His eyes hardened. "Shijo-san, enough. The motives behind my actions are not something that concerns you."

"Fuck, what is with everyone saying that 'reasons don't concern me'? Obviously it concerns me! I'm stuck in a fucking cave with you!"

"My action of murdering my clan is not what brought you here," Itachi countered stiffly.

"Actually, it does. Would you be a part of Akatsuki if you hadn't murdered your family?"

"I don't believe we should consider what could have been."

Aiyana huffed and crossed her arms. "In other words, you're avoiding the question."

"Aiyana-chan—"

"Oi, you two lovebirds, what's taking so long?"

"We're not fucking lovebirds, Dei-chan!" Aiyana shouted turning to face the blonde down the hall. She hadn't heard him approach, but could have recognized his voice anywhere. The clay master grinned at her before walking away. "Please tell me he isn't come with."

"He's not. Let's go. We've made them wait too long."

"Thank God," Aiyana exhaled.

It wasn't until they made it to the river that she realized she had spoken far too soon. Standing impatiently against the stone was the least likable person in Akatsuki, in her opinion at least, and beside him was the most annoying.

"Shit."

Adrik and Tobi were accompanying them to Amegakure.

* * *

><p>Cat's Notes<p>

Hi all! I'm alive and well! Sorry for taking so bloody long to update. Classes aren't fun :(

In any case, Aiyana is back and of course she's back in deep shit. That's just her luck though. And now Itachi is her worst enemy. Yes, I know I'm a bitch. Things were just going so great between them and I ruined everything. Everything. But all be fixed (eventually). She'll hold a forever grudge against Itachi for killing Mingan, but they'll move past it as a couple...eventually...

Anyways

Hoped you enjoyed!

Feel free to leave a review

Have a wonderful week everybody!


	26. Lock Picks And Ropes

Wolf Thief

Chapter 26: Lock Picks and Ropes

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><p>"Ai-chan!" Tobi squealed in delight. "Where have you been? Tobi was so worried that Itachi had to go after you. Tobi has heard that Itachi hasn't been very nice to you lately!"<p>

Aiyana stiffened and felt Itachi beside her do the same. From the corner of her eye she saw Adrik stare curiously at their reaction. He was suspicious of something and, though she wasn't entirely sure what the suspicion was for, she instinctively felt that she had to throw it off of herself. She groaned rather exaggeratedly, "I just can't get a break can I?"

"You put yourself in these situations, Shijo-san," Itachi answered although he knew the question was completely rhetorical.

"As if I would do this to myself on purpose," she scoffed.

"If you must know, daughter, you did do this to yourself." Adrik pushed himself off the wall without an expression.

Aiyana's held enough anger for the both of them. "I'm _not _your daughter. Don't ever call me that! Why are you even coming with?"

"Your cells say something much different. As for why I'm coming…" Adrik smiled at her. "As I'm sure we can all recall a child broke into my lab nearly two weeks, mixed some labels, and caused an explosion." She was sure her face was livid by this point and the angrier she was the happier he seemed. "I have to go to Amekagure to replenish my supplies."

Karma had just bit her in the ass—hard. It might as well had mauled her like a bear or pushed her over a very tall—but not fatally so—cliff and laughed as she fell. God, she felt like screaming. And kicking. And just harming the nearest thing by her. Instead she clenched her fist and turned to Itachi who, like always, wore an impassive expression.

"Shouldn't we be going now?" she asked through clenched teeth.

Itachi stared at her and she knew that he recognized the dark mood clinging to her. "Of course. We've had a late start already. Adrik-san, Tobi-san, if you would meet us at the entrance. There's something I need to do first."

"Finally," Adrik muttered under his breath as he turned to the rushing river. Tobi let out a small cheer and ran onto the water without making any hand signs at all. If Aiyana wasn't so angry she'd probably wonder how much training it took to accomplish such a feet.

Itachi didn't speak again until both were out of hearing range. "Aiyana-chan—"

"What?" she snapped at him. "What are you going to tell me now? That I deserve all of this? That it's all my fault this is happening to me? Or that I should just keep my mouth shut and accept the hand that fate dealt me? Because from where I'm standing, the hand I've been given kind of sucks!"

To her surprise, Itachi chuckled. "I wasn't going to say any of that."

Her mood fizzled. "Oh. Then what were you going to say?"

"One, keep your temper," Itachi said matter-of-factly, "and watch what you say around both of them."

Aiyana stared at him. "I don't understand. Why should I do that?"

"Because the number one thing that has gotten you in trouble is your tongue." Itachi nearly sounded like he was scolding a five-year-old. At the moment she certainly felt like one. "And, though both of them don't hold very much power in Akatsuki, they know people who do."

He waited until she gave a hesitant nod to continue. "I have your bag and your katana and your lock picks."

"You do?" Aiyana curiously looked around him wondering where on earth he could be hiding them.

"Yes. I need your second set of lock picks."

She perked up. "What second set?"

Itachi was almost inclined to believe her. As a thief she was far better at lying than he was. Yet he distinctly remembered her words when she had helped him steal the book from Madara's room. _"A good thief always carries more than one set." _Aiyana was a good thief and a proud one; she definitely had another set.

"Aiyana-chan, now is not the time."

"Of course not, we're making the other two assholes wait again. I'm sure neither of them are pleased with you."

"Your lock picks, Aiyana-chan."

"I don't have a second set. What are you going to do? Full-body search me? You won't find anything."

"I sincerely hope a full-body-search isn't necessary, Aiyana."

Aiyana stiffened then grinned, taking his comment as a joke. "It isn't. All you have to do is believe me when I say there isn't another set. You can do that, right, Uchiha-san? Believe me?"

Itachi gave her a half-smile. It immediately discouraged her teasing and she took a quick step back. He took a step forward. Realizing that he intended to push her against the wall, she tried to take a side step. He caught her shoulder and roughly pushed her against it.

His breath tickled her ear as he whispered, "I can believe you as much as you can believe me, Shijo-san."

Aiyana forced herself to breath normally but could do nothing about her rapid heartbeat. "I really don't inspire trust in you, do I?"

Itachi sighed and leaned back. She nearly allowed herself to relax but immediately stiffened when his hand grabbed a hold of her bandana and pulled it off the top of her head so it hung loosely around her neck. Her ears instantly perked up, catching his attention after he realized that her picks were not hidden in her bandana as he suspected. She glared at him, flattening her ears in her hair once again.

"Aiyana-chan, where are they?"

"I don't have any," she insisted. To her surprise, he wasn't looking in her eyes like he usually did, but at the top of her hand. "What is it now?"

Surprised Itachi looked down at her face. It took him a moment to recollect his thoughts. "Why do you hide them?"

"Hide what?"

"Your ears."

Aiyana's face flushed and she watched in terror as he stretched out his hand and touched one of her ears. Immediately she jerked away so her back rammed against the wall and her ears nearly disappeared in her tangled hair. Damn, she unintentionally did exactly what he accused her of doing. Yet at this point of her life, it was natural for her to keep them from view. It was normal to have people completely ignore them when they were seen too. Itachi, being abnormal in several ways, didn't seem to understand that he was supposed to disregard them.

"Don't touch them!" Aiyana snapped pushing as far back against the wall as she could. If she could melt into it then she probably would have just to avoid Itachi's outstretched hand. He glanced down at her with a bemused expression and carefully rubbed the tip of one of her ears. Her entire body grew stiff and for a good moment she stopped breathing.

He was touching her ear! Touching it! Nobody ever touched her ears before. _Ever. _With the exception of her mother, of course. His hand moved down to the base and hesitantly scratched. Aiyana bit down her lip to keep from letting out a moan. It was like getting a deep muscle massage after going through a grueling military boot camp.

"_Aiyana, the Uchiha is touching you," _Haka stated as a fact.

The Uchiha was touching her! Immediately she pulled her head to the side but felt it when Itachi's hand brushed against the metal pin in her hair. "Damnit!" she hissed under her breath.

"It's not very clever for you to hide your lock picks in your hair."

"Tch, you couldn't find them."

Itachi sighed and took a step away. "Give me your lock picks and put your bandana back on."

She had lost the first round, she realized with a soft sigh. Running a hand through her hair, she pulled out five picks, the five essential ones that every thief kept on them. She had a third set since Itachi was right about her hair. Some people, especially the paranoid ones, knew that a woman's hair was an excellent place to hide weapons. Her third set, though, was a bit harder to get to and she rarely had to use them. Silently she reluctantly pressed the lock picks into his open palm.

"We can go now right? You have everything you need."

Her impatience surprised him. Of course he knew that she viewed this mission as a chance to escape even if the likelihood of actually escaping was nonexistent. But considering both Adrik and Tobi were accompanying them he thought she'd be less eager to place herself in their company.

"Not yet," Itachi said calmly.

"What do you mean not yet?" Aiyana tied her bandana just a little too tightly. Taking her by surprise, Itachi forced her to turn around and pressed her front against the wall. She grunted in protest and tried to wiggle herself free of his gasp, but he made quick work of tying a rope around her wrists until it bit her skin. "What the fuck is this shit?"

"Assurance," Itachi stated calmly, "that you'll have a much harder time trying to escape."

Without warning, he threw her heavily over his shoulder and began to walk. Immediately he regretted not tying a gag around her mouth. Her flailing legs and feet pounding against his core he could deal with, but her demands and screeches that he put her down nearly deafened him. He walked till he was half way down the river where they were surrounded by stone walls.

"Are you sure you want me to put you down?" Itachi asked calmly. As usual his voice demanded just as much attention as her screaming.

Aiyana opened her mouth to say 'yes' but realized where they were. Her only options were to swim upstream to the shore and trap herself once again with Akatsuki or to go over a waterfall and face being swept away into an underground river. Angered, she huffed out, "no."

"Then stop screaming."

"Now that I know it pisses you off I can't do that."

"You will or I will gag you."

"Then fucking gag me," she declared and resumed her screaming. Her yells did everything from demanding he untie her to swearing at him and calling him a murderer. Fortunately for her Itachi couldn't go through with his threat until they reached dry land. By then she was sure she could have his ears bleeding.

Aiyana didn't realize they were at the entrance until she heard Adrik shout over her screaming, "will you shut her up?"

Itachi dropped her not-too-gently on the rough floor. She grinned up at him knowing just how much of an annoyance she was. "Shijo-san, stop this immediately or I will gag you or worse."

"You already know my response for that, murderer."

Itachi's eyes flashed and he leaned down right when she let out the most ear-piercing scream she could. Itachi flinched and backed off. The sound resonated around the chamber and echoed back. If anyone had been in the area, they would have heard the sound and come running. Then something hard and heavy hit her on the back of the head. Her voice faltered and the world quickly faded to black.

She came to minutes later. Her immediate desire was to swear at the asshole that had deemed it necessary to knock her out. Adrik was her first bet. But her words were muffled by a gag. Someone—Itachi most likely—was once again carrying her on their shoulder. In order to escape his grasp she began to thrash around like a fish on land. The second she started he nearly threw her on the ground.

Aiyana gave him the most menacing glare she could summon. With her mouth out of commission she had to display her anger somehow. Itachi's expression didn't hold any anger or any emotion at all. He stared down at her for a moment before reaching down and pulling her up onto her feet. His shove forward was gentle but with clear meaning behind it. 'Get moving.'

"Quit holding us up," Adrik complained.

"Tobi wants good rice balls from Amegakure!"

Itachi sighed nearly inaudible. "It will take three days to reach Amegakure. Stop acting like we only have one day to travel."

Three days! Aiyana's mind wheeled at the new information. She was stuck with this rag tag group for three days. It was a repeat of her three days with Kakuzu and Hidan except worse! Two of the people she was traveling she could actually claim to hate before even starting. The other was more annoying than a crying infant. Her ears flattened in hostility.

Her ears had flattened. A cry of surprise would have left her if she hadn't been gagged. Someone had removed her bandana! Heat flushed into her cheek and she wondered why none of them had commented. She kept her ears flat, intentionally hiding them in her hair. Glancing behind her, she saw Itachi staring at the top of her head. Tobi and Adrik were only looking at the road. Slowly she let her ears perk back up. Apparently none of them cared about her oddity.

Eventually it grew dark enough for them to stop. Adrik insisted they keep going since he wanted to get back to his experiments as soon as possible, but Itachi over ruled him. Plus Tobi kept complaining about how tired he was. Yet despite all his complaints he still seemed rather energetic.

"Shijo-san." Itachi stopped in front of her. Aiyana huffed and looked away. "I'm going to remove the gag so you can eat. If you scream or displease any of us with your words then I'll immediately put it back, understand?"

Aiyana glared at him for a few seconds before nodding in agreement. Itachi untied the cloth and pulled away revealing that the fabric he had used to gag her was actually her bandana. Her ear twitched as if recognizing the object of its oppression; she ignored it. "Who was the asshole who knocked me out?"

Her sharp gaze stayed on Adrik as she spoke. "It wasn't me," he snapped.

"Tobi couldn't stand your screaming," Tobi admitted sheepishly, "it hurt his ears."

"Yeah, well you hurt my head!" she barked back.

"Shijo-san," Itachi warned. He had returned to sit beside her with food in his hand. Aiyana restrained a growl. "Here, eat."

Itachi held out an onigiri to her face. She stared at it and then tugged the ropes holding her hands together. "How am I supposed to eat it? My hands are tied."

The Uchiha raised a brow.

"I refuse to eat anything from your hand," she stated as if it was an obvious fact.

"You didn't care so much last time."

Aiyana met his eyes as she said, "you didn't have blood on your hands last time."

Itachi immediately withdrew the food. Without saying another word to her he moved to the other side of the fire and finished his meal in silence. Tobi chattered incessantly about the squirrels in the forest and Adrik put in a scientific fact or two about squirrels here and there so the meal wasn't completely silent. If, Aiyana thought sourly, she had ever gotten a meal. After Itachi moved away no one else offered her food.

She went to sleep with her stomach growling.

* * *

><p><strong>Cat's Notes<strong>

You guys are so totally awesome! I finally hit 100 reviews! Huzzah! _I feel so special~ _-insert a bazillion and one smiley faces here- I'll try to make it up to you. Maybe a quick unrelated one shot or something. Who knows.

Either way, even with my awesome reviewers, I'm sorry to say that my updates may become rather sporadic from now on. Between trying to write new chapters and school work, I may not be able to post every week. In the very least I will get a new chapter up once every two weeks. And don't be surprised if chapters randomly pop up on Wednesday or something.

Um, what else? Oh! If anyone can tell me where Ai-chan's third lock pick set is then I'll be very impressed ;) Also, she does still hate Itachi and over the next few chapters/days her feelings are going to get more and more muddled. Oh I am such a cruel author. First I kill her lovely wolf (whom I also cared for) and then I make her fall in love with the murderer. I don't know if that makes her a masochist or a poor judge of character.

Well, till I manage to get another chapter up then!

Hope you enjoyed the read!


	27. Just For Valentine's

**Cat's Notes**

Hello everyone! Happy Valentine's Day!

Unfortunately this isn't actually a chapter, but I hope you enjoy it anyways! It's a special Valentine's/100 reviews present! Two little fluffy one-shots featuring Itachi & Aiyana because they don't get much fluff in the actual story.

Just to let you know, the scene below takes place about a year after Wolf Thief finishes. Aiyana is right around 16 years old; Itachi is 19.

* * *

><p>Aiyana damned her arms for not being long enough. Why was it that Jin deemed it necessary to use the top shelf anyways? Hardly anyone looked up there. And, because it was so tall, nobody wanted to look up there.<p>

The bell jingled.

"Just a minute," Aiyana called out. She let her arm drop. There was no way she was going to get the book up on the shelf, so she placed it on one of the lower ones. Sighing she turned to walk to the front and nearly bumped right into a chest. "Geez, way to get up in my face." Her eyes darted up and her jaw nearly dropped. "Itachi-san?"

"Aiyana-chan," Itachi greeted with a slight nod.

Immediately she took a step back and assumed a defensive posture. Itachi seemed amused. "You are not taking me back to Akatsuki, understand? I'll knock these bookcases down on you before you do."

Itachi chuckled and walked past her. He picked up the book she had been trying so desperately to put back in its proper place and easily slid it into place. "I'm here to buy a book to read."

"Bullshit."

"This is a book store, Aiyana-chan," Itachi responded as his eyes perused the shelves. She noticed that they weren't red, but black and almost slightly unfocused. "And if I'm not here to take you back to Akatsuki, then what other reason would I have for stopping in here?"

Aiyana grinned. Jokingly she said, "Because you wanted me to see me."

Itachi's finger paused over the spine of a book. "The shop in Amegakure closed down."

Her senpai's book store, he meant. It had been a good business bringing in quite a bit of supportive cash. And Jin loved it. Well, he was a scroll collector, it was the entire reason he started the store. "Yeah, after the whole Akatsuki ordeal it was kind of obvious that we couldn't be stationed in Amegakure anymore. How did you know we moved here?"

Itachi pulled the book out and scanned though some of the pages. "I didn't."

"Ah, so I bet you walked into a whole lot of bookstores looking for me, huh?"

Itachi sighed and snapped the book shut. "Not too many, only the run-down shabby looking ones."

"Hey! It's not that shabby!"Aiyana protested. Then the true implication of his words hit her. He _really_ had been looking for her. Immediately her cheeks lit up a deep red and she turned around to busy herself with the books. "Here! This one is a good one! At least Jin-senpai says so."

Aiyana turned to hand Itachi the book and found him far closer than he had been before. She took a quick step back only to feel the shelves dig into her back. He was leaning in close enough for their breaths to intermingle. Her heart pounded and she let her eyes flicker from his black to his slightly parted lips. All she had to do was lean forward. Just a little bit and that was all it would take.

"Aiyana?" Itachi asked gently. She snapped open her eyes and saw that he had pulled away. "I should go."

She blinked and tried to hear her own thoughts through her pounding blood. That just happened right? His cheeks were a bit flushed and he refused to meet her eyes. Yes, it had to have happened. But they didn't kiss. Maybe it was just as well that way. Nothing would ever work out between them. Aiyana squeezed the book to her chest.

"Yeah, that'd be best, right?"

_Say no, please say no._

"Yes, that'd be best." For a moment they stood in an awkward silence both refusing to look the other in the eyes. Finally, after seconds that felt like hours, Itachi turned away. "It was nice seeing you again, Aiyana."

Aiyana nodded and watched his retreating back with a torn heart. She should stop him. She shouldn't though. But what could one kiss do? What couldn't one kiss do?

"Damn it all Itachi," Aiyana swore. Dropping the book, she dashed forward and grabbed his arm before he could make it out the door.

"Aiyana—"

Forcefully, she pressed her lips to his opened ones. His response was hesitant but his arms found their way around her waist. In no time he was leading the kiss possessively demanding her mouth. She could feel his heart pounding as strongly as her own. And then he pulled away quickly, eyes wide, and his shock out for all to see. Abruptly he withdrew.

"Good-bye, Aiyana."

Aiyana stared after him and felt a slow smile grow on her lips. It hadn't seemed possible. It was though. Itachi felt the same way she did. Maybe she could make this work.

* * *

><p><strong>Cat's Notes<strong>

So that was the first fluff. Next is the second. You may see parts of this one pop up randomly again in the story.

It's been about 3 years after Wolf Thief took place and circumstances have placed Itachi and Kisame as Aiyana's traveling companions. This fluffy shot would probably coincide with the sequel if I ever get around to writing it. :D I hope I do.

ReadEnjoyReview!

* * *

><p>Kisame did not return by check out time, so they were forced to move on without him. They checked out of the hotel at the usual time though Itachi paid for the room using money he had stolen from her bag. And instead of insuring that he would pay her back, he looked at her and politely thanked her for giving him a place to stay for the night and treating him to lunch. It infuriated her far more than if he had simple accused her of having money to spare.<p>

The thief now vaguely understood how those she stole from felt.

They settled down in a traditional Japanese Tea House for lunch. Aiyana felt perfectly uncomfortable and misplaced whereas Itachi appeared to be in his element. He asked for the local newspaper, a plate of dango, and, kindly enough, two cups of tea. When the newspaper was delivered to the table, he pulled out a pair of reading glasses from his Akatsuki cloak. Aiyana couldn't help but snort. Really, glasses?

"You look like an old man, Itachi-san," she taunted from across the table.

The calm missing nin didn't dignify her comment with a response before he thanked their waitress for delivering the food. "At least I don't look like a ten year child who has been separated from her mother."

"I do not!" Aiyana hotly denied.

"Maybe if you sit still and be quiet for more than five minutes you won't," he replied, giving her a pointed look.

Immediately, she forced her fingers to stop fiddling with the leaves of the plant that was the decorative centerpiece and picked up her tea. Without thinking, she took a gulp and felt the hot drink scald her tongue. Itachi stared at her over the rim of his glasses, amusement in his eyes. Blushing furiously, she looked away and set the drink down, refusing to open her mouth and air her burning tongue.

He sighed and pushed the newspaper towards her. "You managed to accomplish your goal."

"My goal?" she repeated curiously, picking up the newspaper and scanning the second headline.

**Police Still Have No Leads in Recent Theft** screamed out at her in bold letters. Her eyes scanned farther down. _A thief, believed to be female, stole an entire pearl jewelry set worth over $300,000 from the Tikako household two nights ago. A note left behind by the alleged thief points to the infamous Wolf Thief. "If it was her, then this would have been her first theft in nearly three years," comments the chief investigator._ She couldn't help but grin as she handed the paper back to Itachi.

"They'll be looking for you," he said softly as he took it back.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious." He frowned at the nickname and she continued to grin. "Guess that makes your job that much harder."

His eyes narrowed on her, but she couldn't take him seriously while he still wore his thin rimmed glasses. The grin erupted into laughter and she hid her face between the table and her arm. Once she managed to collect herself, she looked back at him with glinting blue eyes. "Itachi-san, you can't be expected to be taken seriously after all I've learned about you the past few days."

"And what have you learned about me?" the Uchiha asked dryly as he unfolded the paper again. Though his eyes may be preoccupied, she knew for a fact that his ears were not.

"Well, you take meticulous care of your hair." The raven haired man looked up to deny, but she held up a hand. "Don't deny it. There's no way in hell that your hair can remain like that without constant care!"

"Aiyana, I would not waste my time caring for my hair."

"Then cut it," she demanded with a cruel smirk.

Again, he frowned at her, but this one held a hint of confusion. "No."

"Point proven. Second, you like Japanese Tea Houses and dangos."

As if to make her point, she glanced at the plate of dangos which should have been enough to feed two people. Itachi alone had eaten two-thirds, leaving only four sticks for her. He tightened his lips but did nothing to deny it. Her hand crept forward to steal one, but he defensively and apparently reflexively brought the plate closer to him.

"Third, you wear dorky glasses when reading."

"They're necessary," Itachi objected.

Aiyana grinned. "It's alright. They're kind of a turn on."

Itachi's eyes widened and he shifted uncomfortably. Aiyana laughed and shook her head.

"That was a joke, Itachi."

"Was it really?" Itachi asked leaning closer. He caught Aiyana's blue eyes flicker in surprise. She didn't back off from his taunt though. Slowly she leaned closer. Her breath mixed with his and he could fully see the temptation in her eyes. He hoped his didn't show as obviously.

With her lips just inches away from his, she muttered, "it was supposed to be."

Itachi wasn't fast enough to avoid her kiss; a part of him wondered if he had even wanted to. Either way the kiss didn't last too long, a few seconds at most before he pulled away and cleared his throat. Aiyana flushed and settled on her side of the table.

"That shouldn't have happened," she announced.

"No," he agreed.

"And it won't happen again, right?" she declared and looked to him for conformation.

"No," Itachi confirmed.

But he decided not to put his glasses away.


	28. Ambush

Wolf Thief

Chapter 27: Ambush

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><p>Someone poked her.<p>

In all senses it was more like a painful jab.

"Ai-chan. Ai-chan." The second time her name was said the idiot elongated it. She was reluctant to wake up now that she was positive yesterday had not been a nightmare. Tobi poked her again. Maybe if she held her breath and didn't move they'd think she had died and leave her. Unfortunately she knew that wasn't going to work. Another poke.

"Will you quit poking me!" Aiyana snapped.

"Oh Ai-chan! You're awake! Tobi thought you died!"

Aiyana wished she had. At least then she wouldn't have to put up with the blundering idiot. She huffed and watched as Adrik and Itachi finished cleaning up the camp. The sun was barely over the horizon by the time they were all up and moving. Itachi kept her hands tied behind her back but did not put a gag in her mouth. He warned her to stay quiet for the day or he would gag her again though.

They kept a formation. Tobi usually was in the front simply because he'd run ahead in excitement and then have to wait for them to catch up. Adrik was after Tobi keeping far enough away where most would assume he wasn't part of their group. Itachi remained behind her watching the ropes on her wrists for any fray or attempt to escape. Aiyana, caught in between probably the two worst people in the world, sulked.

Haka, however, would have been humming if her vocal cords allowed her too. _"Aiyana, this situation isn't too bad. Sure, you're trapped with the village idiot, your conniving father, and the man who murdered Mingan, but at least you're not dead." _

Aiyana rolled her eyes at the spirit's attempt to brighten her day. _"Yeah, at least I'm not _dead._ Seriously Haka if that's all you can come up with then just be quiet."_

_ "Fine, Miss Snippy. On top of not being dead, you're also not poor or sick or being experimented on or trapped in jail. You are outside breathing fresh air and have chances to escape. What are you planning to do anyways? To escape?" _

_"I'm not snippy," _Aiyana whined.

_"You haven't thought of an escape plan, have you?" _

_"Normally the people I'm escaping from aren't as strong or clever as Uchiha-san, okay? They're always lacking! I need a way to outsmart and I'd rather not deal with Tobi and that bastard on top of Uchiha. I was just going to wait till after Amegakure."_

Haka snorted and shook her head. Amusement shined in her gold eyes. _"Excuses Ai-chan. Take this challenge head on."_

_ "Ha! Head on! I'd rather sneak around the back and pounce on it. What are you so happy about anyways?"_

_ "We're outside again."_

Aiyana waited a moment for Haka to add more, but the spirit remained silent and content. _"That's it?"_

_ "Yes."_

_ "Really, as in seriously, you're happy because we're outside?"_

_ "Ai-chan, don't forget that I'm a wolf. I don't mind caves since we tend to use them as dens, but it's been over a week since the last time we were outside. It's nice to be surrounded by trees again."_

_ "Yeah, and it'd be nicer if my hands weren't tied up by these damn ropes."_

_ "Then I guess you ought to untie them."_

_ "With the Uchiha watching me like a hawk? I'm not going to get very far." _But she'd get somewhere, Aiyana realized slowly. _"He'd have to retie the ropes."_

Haka's grin showed all her canines. _"Yes, he would and you'd have free hands for a short while."_

_ "Think I can get a knife off of him?"_

_ "Probably. It's just a matter of hiding that knife."_

_ "I've got pockets."_

_ "As long as he doesn't know you have—"_

_ "Anywhere will work. Excellent plan if I do say so myself."_

_ "And who helped you come up with it?"_

_ "My own brilliant mind."_

Haka scoffed and settled back into her quiet, watchful presence mode while Aiyana went to work on the ropes. It was difficult working on them while walking and Itachi's watchful eyes behind her meant she had to keep her movements small and uninteresting. If she frayed a few strands with her nails then she'd probably be able to make it noticeable by dinner.

Tobi eventually started complaining he was hungry. Initially Itachi and Adrik ignored him, but she had to admit that when the masked member wanted to be noticed then he'd get noticed. She could feel Itachi's annoyance radiating behind her as Tobi clung onto his arm.

"Ita-chan! Tobi is _so _hungry! Please feed Tobi!"

His begging reminded her of her scene in the kitchen when she first arrived at the Akatsuki base. Grinning, she turned to face the two of them. "Tobi-chan, I think that will only work if you're a girl."

"Oh!" Aiyana wondered how long it would take before he realized that she was the only girl in the group. After several seconds (which was several too long) he looked her over. "Ai-chan is a girl! You can ask Ita-chan!"

"It's Aiyana," she muttered crossly. "And I sincerely doubt that Uchiha-san will listen to a word I say." A sly grin settled on her lips as she looked the deeply annoyed Uchiha in his red eyes. "But I can give it shot anyways."

"Enough!" Adrik snapped. "Uchiha-san, if this is how you handle to teenagers then I place no trust in your leadership skill."

Aiyana snorted. "Like _you _have any."

"I certainly have more than a _boy _half my age," Adrik spat out.

Aiyana glanced at Itachi expecting anger or at the least irritation. Instead she saw that his expression was completely blank. Why wasn't he defending himself against this bastard? He never brushed off her insults without responding, so why do it with him? Well, though she didn't like either of them, she still felt more of a connection with Itachi than her own father and would rather see Itachi win the argument. Even if she had to do it for him.

"And less than a ninja," she retorted harshly.

"Aiyana!" She twisted on her heel to face the Uchiha and gritted his teeth. He doesn't get mad at Adrik for insulting him, but gets mad at her when she tries to defend him. Where was the sense in that logic? "Leave it be. We'll be stopping for lunch and water for ten minutes."

Her blue eyes darkened but she managed to keep herself from snapping at him. Adrik's own blue eyes lit up in amusement. The ass probably thought that he won the argument. For one second his eyes connected with hers. Angry, she lifted her lip to bare her teeth and gave a snarl in his direction. A firm hand fastened onto the ropes that kept hers together and forced her to sit on the ground. Aiyana immediately turned her snarl to the Uchiha. In return, he stared her down refusing to look away until she did first. There was no way she was going to look away. No. Fucking. Way. But he kept staring and she swore that the rings around his pupils would occasionally spin. Itachi probably knew that looking away would give her some semblance of dominance over the situation. The rings spun again. His cold, red eyes seemed to begin to bleed into her sight.

Huffing, Aiyana looked away. Satisfied that he had won the fight, he sat a good arms distance away. "Do you plan to eat today, Shijo-san?"

She snorted and, as if to answer the question, got up and moved so she was further away from him and leaning against a tree. While the Akatsuki members were busy eating, she rubbed the ropes against the rough bark fraying the ropes far faster than her single nail. When they began to pack up their lunches she heard the last strand snap and the ropes fell off her wrists.

Aiyana didn't hesitate. The moment the ropes came off, she got to her feet and took off at a run. Behind her she could hear a very clear "shit" and then the sounds of pursuit.

"Faster, damnit, faster."

_"Aiyana, used that technique the Uchiha showed you on land," _Haka suggested calmly.

"I don't have time to concentrate chakra while these assholes are chasing me!" Aiyana quickly swerved her way between a thick batch of trees. One of the branches above shook but she didn't dare look up.

_"Then do it while you run."_

_ "And crash into a tree? I don't think so! There has to be somewhere I can hide! If only I had a smoke bomb or something!"_

_ "Ai-chan, we both know that you aren't going to get far. You just want that knife, remember?"_

_ "Yeah, but we don't need them to be suspicious. If I just give up Uchiha-san will definitely think something is up. And who knows, Haka? Maybe if I run fast enough I really will—"_

"Fuck!" Aiyana shouted skidding to a halt as the Uchiha jumped down from the trees in front of her. She didn't, couldn't, hesitate before taking off in a different direction. Only to realize that she was heading straight towards the cliff face that had been walking parallel to all day. The asshole was trying to corner her like a rat. Gritting her teeth she turned again so she was partially running in the direction she had a come from.

"Ai-chan, are we playing tag? Are you it?" Tobi called.

Aiyana stopped for a moment to see the masked member hovering on the branches above her. "Yes, tag! But I'm not it! Itachi is!"

"Oh!" cooed the member. "Then we better start running! Ita-chan is right there!"

Aiyana glanced behind her to see that the Uchiha was indeed approaching. He wasn't running; he simply walked towards her with murder spelt in his eyes. She clenched her fist and turned to run again. Only Adrik stood in her way. Without hesitation he threw a punch right into her abdomen and she doubled over while gasping for the air that was forced out.

"Really daughter? You think you can escape Akatsuki by running like a lost pup?"

Shit for someone who wasn't a ninja he could hit pretty damn hard. Aiyana felt tears prick her eyes but still managed to keep an objective in mind. Delicately she scanned Adrik's body and spotted a weapons bag tied onto his right leg. He may not be a ninja, but he certainly tried to act like one. And just in case getting his weapon failed, she knew that Itachi's weapons were on his left leg and hidden under his silly Akatsuki cloak.

With anger she didn't need to fake, she lurched forward and attempted to get a hit on Adrik. Purposely she slowed her fist down to make him feel comfortable catching it. When his hand rose up to do so, she grinned at him and quickly changed direction from his face to his stomach and then followed with her other fist and a kick for good measure. Immediately, he found himself in the position that she was in just moments ago.

"I am _not _your daughter!" Aiyana snapped and moved to hit his face. Doing so would get her close enough to slip her hand in his weapons bag and snatch a kunai without him realizing.

If her fist had landed.

Lithe fingers wrapped around her wrist and yanked her in their owner's direction. "Shit." Her chance to steal the kunai from Adrik was gone. It'd be far harder to get it from Itachi. She grinned diabolically at the Uchiha. "You just had to interrupt us, didn't you? I wouldn't mind getting a few more hits in if you wouldn't mind letting go." His grip tightened. "I take that as a no."

"Shijo-san, enough of this. You're wasting time and elongating our travel time." His eyes flickered to Adrik and he added quite arrogantly, "with them."

Really? The Uchiha just had to play that card. He knew that she hated all three of her traveling companions and some more than others. The longer she was with them the more miserable she was and he knew it. "Tch, I'd expect a ninja like you to be able to catch a girl like me far faster, Uchiha-san. You're the one wasting time."

"There aren't very many girls like you, Shijo-san."

Aiyana started and glowered suspiciously at the Uchiha. Was that a compliment or an insult? Why should she even care? Without wasting another moment, Itachi spun her around and grabbed her other wrist so he could tie them behind her back. As expected, she began to shout and scream and demand her immediate release, but he managed to work through all of that and tied a solid knot with an addition.

"Is that a _leash_?" Aiyana screeched. "Did you just put me on a fucking leash, Itachi Uchiha?"

"Shijo-san, be quiet," Itachi ordered in a hiss-like voice.

"Not until you get rid of that fucking leash, Uchiha—"

Itachi tugged out her bandana from his cloak pocket and stuffed it into her mouth. Her screams muffled she resorted to death glares that failed to kill. The Uchiha sighed in relief and nodded to his companions to get back on the road. Aiyana tugged on the rope and refused to move.

"You brought this on yourself, Aiyana-chan."

She narrowed her eyes and flattened her ears.

"You can't deny it this time. Tsuzuki-san was right, did you really expect to escape?"

Aiyana snorted which came out as an odd sounding huff.

Itachi sighed and ran a hand through his raven hair. "Let's catch up."

With a gag stuffed into her mouth, the rest of the afternoon was silent. Tobi, who had taken off after Aiyana told him that Itachi was 'it' in tag, didn't reappear until they set up camp for the night. Immediately he began to complain about how Itachi failed to chase him and that this was the worst game of tag he had ever played. The thief, now forbidden from sitting next to trees or talking, glared down the masked man in hopes that he'd shut up.

"Oh, are we playing hide-and-go-seek now?" Tobi asked bouncing with excitement.

"Don't be stupid," Adrik scolded, "we aren't out here to—"

"Quiet, both of you," Itachi ordered softly.

It took Aiyana a moment to realize what was going on.

They were surrounded.

* * *

><p><strong>Cat's Notes<strong>

Happy Birthday! Here's your present!

[As a note, I personally know no one who celebrates their birthday on Feb 22, but I'm sure there's a birthday somewhere out there.]

So Ai-chan is back with her usual problems! I believe I've finally gotten over my writer's block. Is it a writer's block when you know exactly what you want to write but can't put it down in words? That's what I've been dealing with these past few days. Horrible, horrible feeling.

Also I realized I made a mistake. When Itachi is talking to or around Adrik he refers to him as "Tsuzuki-san". Itachi does hold a higher position than Adrik in Akatsuki, but Adrik is older than him. Now, when Itachi is mentioning Adrik and he isn't around, then he calls him "Adrik-san". Itachi actually has little to no respect for Adrik and only acts like he does around him to avoid fights or seeming disrespectful.

On another note, this is mentioned in the second chapter, but I'm not sure you all remember, but Aiyana's last name is, by the culture, Tsuzuki. She uses her mother's last name of Shijo though. It's not particular important to plot; it has more to do with her character development and relationship with her father. I just wanted to make sure that was clear.

And another reminder, **updates will continue to be completely sporadic. Expect them at any time! **:) I'm evil.

Review please, me dearies!

P.S. Those of you who guessed that she hides the lock picks in her bra were right. She actually sewed them in the padding area so they're really difficult to reach and nearly impossible for others to find. Usually she never has to resort to using them. You all get an internet fudge brownie as a reward :) Cause brownies are awesome!


	29. Author's Note

Author's Note

I know I haven't been on for a very long but a lot has happened. I did a 3 month internship working with the most amazing exotic cats and found myself the most amazing exotic boy that I have been dating for the past 7 months ;) Unfortunately by exotic I mean that he is from Australia and I am a silly Floridian girl. I couldn't have picked a guy further away from me even if I tried. And I will be graduating with my awesome degree in zoology this December! If I pass that darn physics course.

And several months ago I managed to kill another laptop (a cat spilled gator on it) and this time my data was not retrievable. So I basically lost all of my writing and I was really depressed over it and didn't want to start from scratch. But now I've started working on some original stories and its put me back in a writing mood. I feel sorry for neglecting this one and I really love it. So I'm going to try to get it done before I graduate. Unfortunately, I'm not so sure about a sequel. We'll have to see but this one will get done! I am determined.

Anyways, I swear I'll get a chapter up by this weekend.

Love you guys

Cat


	30. In The Silence

**Wolf Thief**

**Chapter 28: In The Silence**

Aiyana struggled with her knots hoping to somehow get them off her wrists. No way was she just going to sit here and wait for the attack. Itachi shot her a dark glare and she stopped. The rest of the group was quiet going on as if they weren't surrounded by some unknown enemy. Were they just waiting for the attack? Did they want to be on the defense? So what was she supposed to do? Sit and pray that a stray kunai from the impending fight didn't kill her? She hated the idea of being so trusting in fate. She wanted the ability to avoid the kunai.

Slowly Itachi stood. Tobi looked up at him curiously. "Where are you going, Ita-chan?"

"Restroom."

He walked calmly into the trees and disappeared from view. None of the ninja surrounding them moved. At least she couldn't tell if they did. Their chakras all melded together to her. She kept her eyes off of the thick canopy and stared into the fire. Itachi was bound to be doing something, coming up with some plan. Planning was his specialty after all. Her eyes flickered to Tobi and Adrik and they both remained impassive about the situation.

But everything remained silent. No one moved.

And then she heard it, in the trees to her right, a muffled _thump_. Her mind filled in the reason for the noise. A body had just hit the ground.

Then, there was a chaos. Six ninjas sprang out of the trees and divide themselves into teams two. One went for Adrik, one for Tobi and the other came directly for her. Her scream was muffled by her gag but didn't go unnoticed. Adrik glanced quickly in her direction, swearing. Being tied up and gagged had left her looking like a sitting a duck but she refused to remain so. As the ninja came towards her, she rolled backwards onto her feet and tried to pose as a viable threat. She's sure she looked it, with a gag in her mouth and her hands tied tightly behind her back.

The ninja stopped not too far away grinning. The firelight didn't illuminate their faces well enough for her to make out anything, but she glanced at their forehead protectors. There she could barely make out what looked like a musical note. Sound ninjas were attacking them, but what on earth had they done to promote a sound ninja attack?

"You're fighting us like that?" one ninja asked. Surprisingly, or maybe it was unsurprisingly, his voice sounded like music.

"Stupid girl, if you don't fight then maybe we'll be able to take you back to Orochimaru-sama alive," the other chastised. His voice, on the other hand, sounded like wheels on gravel. But she grasped onto his words. Maybe taken back alive which means that dead was also an option. The ninja didn't care. She wasn't going to be taken by a group of ninja who didn't care if she lived or died. In the very least, if she stayed with Akatsuki she knew that they had to keep her alive.

Aiyana didn't relax her stance. The musical ninja let out an annoyed sigh and pulled out some kunai. "I suppose we'll finish this quickly."

She ran at him. It was an awkward run but not expected. The ninja brought up his arm to block her kick before throwing a kunai in her direction. She dropped to the ground to dodge and barely avoided being stabbed by a katana the other ninja wielded. She found her feet quickly and attempted to put distance between them. But gravel-voice kept up with her, forcing her to dodge stab after stab of his blade.

Pain suddenly shot up her leg and she stumbled to her knees. The katana grazed her shoulder as it glided past. Aiyana glanced down at her thigh to see the handle of a kunai protruding out. Her eyes shot to the musical ninja. His hand was outstretched but his expression was just shocked as hers. Then she saw the red shine of a blade covered in blood coming from his chest. It was the only thing holding him up at this point. When the blade pulled out, he crumbled down to the ground. Behind him stood Itachi, eyes just as red as the blood on his sword.

Gravel voice swore and grabbed a hold of her. Forcing her to her feet and holding his katana to her throat. "Move and I'll kill her!" he screamed. It wasn't a very impressive scream, but Aiyana flattened her ears due to the horrible sound of his voice.

She locked eyes with Itachi. His expression was unreadable. She glanced behind the Uchiha to see that Tobi had already disposed of his two ninja and was assisting Adrik with the last one. Their camp was now littered with bodies. Her captor pulled his blade closer to her throat. His other hand began to rummage for something in his pocket. She wriggled her own hands and was pleased to find that she could reach one of his knives. She pulled it free and began to work on her ropes in small movements.

"Kill her and you will meet the same fate," Itachi warned calmly.

The ninja already knew that. She could tell from the desperation in his voice. Finally he found whatever it was. Aiyana meet Itachi's eyes again and glanced down. Her message wasn't clear but she hoped Itachi was smart enough to figure it out. He didn't regard her and kept his eyes trained on the enemy.

"Don't worry. We're all going to die," gravel voice exclaimed almost merrily.

Aiyana reacted quickly. She yanked her hands free, knocked the katana away from her throat, and stabbed the stolen knife into his shoulder. He screamed and dropped whatever it was he was holding. Her eyes darted to it and saw the explosive tag tied on.

"Shit!"

It hit the ground before she could move away.

The light was blinding. The noise was deafening.

Aiyana felt her body thrown back by the force but didn't remember ever hitting the ground.

* * *

><p>The world came into focus slowly. The first face she saw was not one that she liked. His dark blue eyes looked down on her in anger but then vanished. She turned her head to focus in on the rest of the world. It seemed strange and surreal from her side view as her disoriented mind tried to organize it. Trees and trees and there seemed to be a fire going that made the shadows seem darker and threatening. Adrik was kneeling near her and waving Itachi over. Her eyes focused in on his taunt face. Was it just her or did he look…worried?<p>

She followed him until he hovered above her like Adrik had. His black eyes seemed a little unfocused in her opinion. Or was it just her disoriented mind making them seem like that? But she held onto them almost desperately. Something just didn't feel right. His mouth moved but she heard nothing. It kept moving and she stared blankly up at him. A frown crossed his lips and he looked away. Her mind was slow to catch on. The silence. The silence was too much. It was deafening. It was deafening but there was nothing there.

She couldn't hear anything.

Aiyana shot up, panicked. Pain ran through her body at the sudden movement. Itachi turned quickly and caught her shoulders. His mouth was moving; he was talking to her. She shook her head, panic stricken. Nothing. She heard nothing.

The bomb had left her deaf.

_"Aiyana," _Haka's voice rang out. Relief filled her. At least she could still hear Haka. _"Of course you can. My voice is inside your head." _

_ Dumbass, _Aiyana thought to herself.

_"The damage is not permanent. I've already looked at it. But it will take time before your full hearing will come back."_

_ "How much time?" _Aiyana asked desperately. _"How much!"_

_ "A couple hours to a couple of days," _Haka answered reluctantly.

_Days! _

She wanted to scream. By Itachi's startled expression, she must have screamed. Since she couldn't her herself she wasn't quite sure if she did. His hands were still on her shoulders and she didn't bother shrugging them off. Instead she tried to pull her legs up to her chest and cringed in pain. She glanced down and saw a bandaged wrapped around her thigh. The kunai from earlier. She hadn't felt it then because of the adrenaline. She ignored the pain and pulled her knees up anyways.

A moment later Adrik appeared before her. He still appeared angry. What on earth made him so angry? Certainly not that his precious daughter had been almost killed and left deaf by a bomb. His hand reached towards her face. Immediately she jerked back but was held in place by Itachi. He withdrew his hand and glared at her. His lips moved slowly so she was able to read them.

"Don't move."

Unconsciously she looked over her shoulder at Itachi who nodded gently. She looked back at Adrik and cringed when his hand touched her ears. Somehow though his hands were far gently than his eyes. He examined her ears separately before looking past her to Itachi.

"The damage isn't permanent. I can speed up the healing process."

Adrik's hands began to glow blue. Aiyana fervently shook her head and pushed away from him. She wasn't going to let this man heal her. There was no way in hell she was going to let him help her. The last person on this earth she ever wanted to be indebted to was her awful father.

_"Don't be stubborn, Ai-chan," _Haka warned. _"You don't want to be deaf for long do you?"_

Aiyana glared at Adrik, daring him to try. She would rather let them heal on their own then be in debt to that bastard. Adrik sighed and stood up. Her eyes followed him, but again he talked to Itachi.

"If she doesn't want my help, I'm not giving it to her."

Itachi removed his hands and moved so he now sat in front of Aiyana. His eyes were black, but filled with an emotion she tried not to place. She could hear Haka's thoughts, though, going through a list _(disappointment, concern, worry…) _as the spirit tried to place it_. _His lips moved slowly so she can read them. She knew he was going to rebuke her on turning down help. It wasn't a lo4gical thing to do and Itachi must fix the illogical.

"Do you—"

She frowned and looked away so she couldn't read the rest of his sentence. Her mind filled it in though. Do you always have to be so stubborn?

Suddenly his hand reached out and grabbed her chin. She brought up her hands to grab his wrist but didn't try to pull it away. Instead she stared, wide-eyed at him. His eyes had hardened and his lips moved at their normal speed but she read them either way.

"Tell me, Aiyana, do you enjoy the silence?"

Aiyana stared at him. He let go of her, stood up, and walked away. She wasn't sure what time of the night it was or even if it was the same night as the attack. They had moved since their camp wasn't littered with dead ninjas, but she wasn't sure where. Her eyes glanced around. Itachi and Adrik sat by the fire in a silence she didn't need to hear. Tobi was perched up in a tree. His single eye open and staring at her. She looked away.

Did she enjoy the silence?

No, the silence was deafening.

* * *

><p><strong>Cat's Notes<strong>

I know it's been a super, super long time since anything was posted for this story. And I am so, so sorry for that. But as I mentioned in the note, I plan on finishing this story. I literally plan on writing and posting the moment the chapter is done. I'm also using this to procrastinate because I have 3 exams coming up in 2 weeks (FML) but I don't want to study.

Anyways,

ReadEnjoyReview


	31. Amegakure

**Wolf Thief**

**Chapter 29: Amegakure **

* * *

><p>Itachi was staring at her. He had been doing so most of the day. Either way, Aiyana dropped her hand from her ear. Haka had spent the night working on healing her ears and was now asleep to replenish herself. Some of her hearing had returned, but she felt as if she was listening to everything while wearing heavy duty ear plugs. She doubted that she would be able to make out anything anyone said to her unless they stood right next to her ear.<p>

Unfortunately, her deaf status also made her a paranoid. She couldn't hear any of the Akatsuki members walking behind her and she couldn't hear Tobi singing in front of her. She constantly glanced at the surrounding forest in fear that some more sound ninja would attack and she would never hear them coming. Who would have ever thought that being death was such an inconvenience?

Luckily, apparently being deaf also was enough of a handicap that Itachi determined tying her up no longer had a point. An escape attempt from her was no longer a threat. And though she hated to admit it, he was right. She no longer felt steady and sure of her surroundings. She still felt disoriented and was in no state to try running. She also didn't speak for a fear that she would sound ridiculous since she couldn't hear herself.

Aiyana couldn't stand it. She couldn't stand not being able to hear. Some important, essential part to her had just been yanked away. She knew it was only temporary but the idea that she would have to live with it for some period of time made it unbearable. And what if she didn't heal properly? Haka had worked for hours last night and so far everything she heard was muffled and barely recognizable. What if the longer she waits for help, the more permanent the damage becomes? But Haka could only direct so much of her chakra into healing her ears. And not to mention the puncture wound in her leg. Some energy had been spent on that to make the wound less severe so she was able to walk without a limp. Haka warned her that if she ignored it and focused on her ears then it would leave a scar. It would be the first scar she ever got.

Someone touched her shoulder. Aiyana jumped and turned to face the culprit—a rather guilty looking Itachi. She didn't even know guilt was an emotion he could feel. She sighed and looked away from him but could still feel his eyes are on her. His hand touched her shoulder again and she pulled away, stopping to glare at him. Last night the shock had made her immune to his touch, but now she remembered how revolting it was to be touched by him.

His lips moved. "Are you okay?"

Her eyes darkened and, still scared of how her voice sounded when she couldn't hear it, she decided to turn her lip up to snarl at him. Hopefully that showed just how not okay she was.

Itachi frowned. "There is no point in putting yourself through this, Aiyana-chan. There is a healer among us."

She shot a look at Adrik who had walked ahead of them when they stopped. Healer her ass. That man was more likely to experiment on her than heal her. His hands were more adapt at creating poisonous concoctions to feed to wolves than to heal a pair of broken ears. She would never let him heal her; she would never let him touch her. Besides Haka said it would only be a few days before she healed her ears. Even so, she was sure she could find someone once they got to Amegakure.

Aiyana knew Itachi could see the anger in her eyes and knew he knew that it wasn't going to happen. He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something again, but only closed it and turned away. She huffed and quickly put some distance between them.

Absentmindedly, she began to play with her ears again. She hated how useless they were. She chewed her lip and glanced quickly at Itachi. He looked away, but it confirmed her suspicion that he had been watching her again.

Why was he so concerned?

Her ears should be healed before they reached Konoha, so it wouldn't affect their mission. Why couldn't he keep his eyes off of her?

Tobi had stopped walking in front of them. Aiyana froze, half expecting more sound ninja to jump out of them. Instead, the crazy man just jumped and ran up the hill in front of them. He stopped at the top and turned to the wave them up.

They must be getting close to Amegakure.

When she reached the top of the hill, she saw the village laid out in front of them. The shambled, caving in roofs of the poorer section all the way to the tall, elegantly designed styles of the richer distracter. A dreary cloud hung above the village as it normally did, but somehow did not take away from its enchanting and eerie beauty. The crooked streets and people called to her. Her heart hammered. She was so close to getting out of this death trap.

Someone touched her shoulder again. She jumped and snarled at the bastard. This time it wasn't Itachi but Adrik.

"Really, you stupid girl, you shouldn't be so scared," his lips said. He didn't bother to slow them like Itachi did; he probably knew that she was adept enough at reading them. Aiyana glowered at him. "You're the one who decided to stay like that." She pulled her lip back, hoping she seemed just as menacing as Mingan did when he often tried to threaten someone. He frowned at her. "I do not agree with him, but Itachi demands I heal you for your mission. You can either work with me or we'll force you."

Aiyana's eyes hardened and she shot a glare at Itachi. He still appeared guilty but he held her gaze. This time she refused to look away until he lowered his dark eyes. She brought her eyes back to Adrik and shook her head. Adrik glanced past her at Itachi and then nodded. Cautious, Aiyana took another step back and stepped right into Tobi. She didn't even know he had moved behind her. Damnit, if only she had her ears; she would have heard him.

Then the world went black.

* * *

><p>Voices.<p>

She heard voices.

Angry ones at that.

Carefully, she turned her head to stare to the right at the source. Adrik and Itachi were arguing. Itachi looked as calm as he ever was and Adrik looked as if he was on the verge of murder.

"You feel nothing for her?" It was Adrik's harsh voice, accusing, as usual.

"Nothing," Itachi said calmly in return. Aiyana felt as if this was not the first time he had said that. "She is only a means to an end."

Adrik snorted. "I don't believe you."

"Believe what you wish."

"Trust me, Uchiha, I will. Leader-sama was smart enough to at least make her hate you."

Itachi didn't respond. She wasn't quite sure what was going on. Who exactly was the girl they were talking about? His red eyes shifted to her. Shit, whatever Adrik said had made him angry or at least annoyed. The color faded away and he turned his attention back to Adrik. Aiyana let out a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding.

"Perhaps he was."

Adrik muttered something and turned around to see Aiyana staring up at him. "So you're finally awake. Tell me, _daughter_, how does everything feel?"

She only glared at him for a moment before quickly sweeping her leg under his. His body hit the ground heavily and she shakily brought herself to her feet.

"How dare you do that to me!" she shouted at him. Her eyes darted up to Itachi. "Both of you! I didn't want your goddamn filthy hands on me, you fucking bastard." She moved to kick Adrik, but Itachi was quick to put himself between them. Aiyana snarled at him. "And who are you to heal someone against their will? I didn't want his fucking hands on me, but who doesn't give two fucks and only cares about his reputation in some fucking racist gang? You, Uchiha-san! So how about you mind your own fucking business and don't force your will onto someone else!"

"Having you remain like that would have been a liability to the mission," Itachi stated calmly.

"A liability?" Aiyana repeated gently, "to the mission? That's the only thing you care about, isn't it, Uchiha-san? Your fucking mission." Her sharp eyes narrowed. "Then let's hurry up and get the damn thing over with. The less time I have to spend with you two bastards, the better."

"How dare you talk to me like that!" Adrik finally managed to get out of his stupor and clamber back to his feet. He certainly had been expecting her to react as quickly as she did. "I am the one who _healed _you!"

"Against my will!" Aiyana snapped back. "I never wanted anything from you, least of all your help!"

Adrik barked out a laugh. "Never wanted anything? What a lie, girl. You have wanted everything from me."

She gritted her teeth and clenched her fist, taking a small, shaken step forward.

"Enough," Itachi said. "There is no point in fighting amongst ourselves."

Adrik barked out a hateful laugh. "Protecting that girl again, Uchiha-san?"

"Protecting me? He hasn't done a single thing to protect me!"

"Trust me, girl, from the moment you entered his life, Uchiha-san has done everything to protect you."

"Enough," Itachi repeated with more force. His eyes had turned to demon red. "Shijo-san is more than capable of protecting herself against someone like you."

Adrik seethed at the blow. "Is that so, Uchiha-san? So you deny shielding her from me and from the wraith of Pain?"

The Uchiha's eyes narrowed.

"He hasn't done either of those things!" Aiyana snapped, stepping forward but she hesitated and looked at Itachi. "Have you?"

"As I have said, you are capable of protecting yourself."

Aiyana felt shock ripple through her. An indirect answer with no answer had to be Itachi's way of lying especially now that she knew how to tell he was. In his own way, he had been protecting her.

"What have you done?" she asked softly.

Itachi only stared at her.

"What have you done?" she repeated with a more volume.

"If you weren't so blind, girl, then maybe you would have noticed," Adrik snarled.

"Noticed what?" Aiyana was practically screaming.

Adrik barked a laugh again. "Perhaps I should have healed your eyes instead."

"Enough of this," Itachi said again. His voice seemed so much more lethal to her than usual; it sent chills down her back. "Let's get into Amegakure before dark."

Aiyana huffed and had half a mind to refuse but knew it would do no good in the end. Besides, the sooner they got into Amegakure the sooner she got to ditch her scheming father and that masked idiot, wherever he was. Aiyana twined her fingers together and followed Itachi silently. Had Adrik been right? Itachi didn't deny protecting her but he didn't confirm it either. He never gave any sign that was his intention. And why would it be? What sense was there in protecting one of Akatsuki's tools from Akatsuki itself?

It wasn't long before they were at the front gates of the village. The guards didn't hesitate to open the gates for them and she wondered if it had to do with her company. Most of the time she had to either allow them to see she was a fellow criminal of Amegakure or convince them she was just a traveler passing through to get through the gates.

Itachi paused right after walking through and grabbed a hold of her wrist. Without a warning, he tightly tied a rope around it and then tied the other end of his. She glared up at him.

"Worried you'll lose me?" she teased.

"Insurance that you won't disappear in the crowd."

She tugged on it and he hardly budged. Sarcastically, she said, "well done."

The crowd was thick and Aiyana could understand why Itachi was worried she would disappear. It would be so easy for her to blend with the people and become one with the swarm. Instead a nasty rope kept her less than a foot away from the Uchiha. Even if she tried to untie the knot he would see her before she could even get it off. Not to mention, Adrik and a returned Tobi (he had apparently been scouting) tagged along behind them.

"Lead the way, Shijo-san."

Aiyana nodded and pulled him at an almost excited pace. He didn't complain though. It was easy enough for her to glide through the crowd but she often felt a tug on the rope when Itachi got caught trying to squeeze past some people. She sighed irritably and finally pulled off into one of the side alleys. Unfortunately Adrik and Tobi managed to stick along too.

The alleys of Amgakure were dirty and dank and far less crowded than the main roads. She knew them just as well as the main roads as well. She tried not to take deep breaths as she walked and heard someone, probably Adrik, gagging behind her.

"Where are you taking us, girl?"

She shot a smile over her shoulder. "Somewhere to kill you."

He snorted and then gagged as the scent of the alley overwhelmed his senses. Aiyana held back a laugh and finally pulled out onto a main road. They wandered along the border of the middle class and poor districts of the village. On one side of the road, the apartments and stores were decently well kept with merchandise shining at the windows. On the other side, the apartments were shabby with broken windows and holes in the roof; the shops looked worn down and barely alive.

Aiyana stopped in front of a worn sign that was barely legible anymore. But she knew what it was supposed to read: Scrolls For the Collector's Heart. She grinned and pulled Itachi into the side alley. Enthusiastically she knocked three times on the door, waited two seconds, and then knocked once more. A few minutes later, the door opened. The man framed by the doorway was neither young nor old with ruffled blonde hair escaping from underneath his bandana. His eyes widened at the sight of her before he grinned.

"Ai-chan! I thought you were dead for sure this time!"

Then he said nothing she ever expected to hear.

"Get off of my doorstep."

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><p><strong>Cat's Notes<strong>

Okay so I realized that I forgot something important and that's Itachi's tattoo! Remember that chapter where Itachi came back from his mission and was bleeding and all? Yeah, that one. I forgot to mention that Aiyana did see his tattoo but didn't think much of it because she knew he was an ANBU. My bad!

Also, I really hate this chapter. I did not go as I planned it but the way I planned didn't make as much sense as I hoped it would. I feel like Aiyana is slightly out of character but we'll just blame that on the fact that she's just gotten over a major shock.

Anyways, another chapter done! I still feel like writing so I'll keep going. It's much better than physics homework (who the fuck understands physics!) Plus, if I stay up until 2am then maybe I'll have the pleasure of skyping with my boyfriend ;) Damn this 15 hours time difference! Anywho:

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	32. Samurai and Demon

Wolf Thief

Chapter 30: Demon and Samurai

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><p>Shocked, Aiyana stood there until she realized that he wasn't talking to her. She followed his eyes to Adrik who had a deep frown on his face. Jin knew him but Adrik didn't know Jin. How? How was it her senpai knew this horrible man?<p>

"Jin-senpai?" Aiyana asked uncertainly.

Jin didn't look at her. He continued to glare threateningly at Adrik. His voice was cold and sharp as icicles when he spoke. "Leave."

"Who are you?" Adrik asked.

Jin took a step forward to bring himself closer. "Perhaps you aren't understanding me. Leave!"

"And why should I listen to a boy like you?" the bastard taunted.

"Because," Jin snarled, "this is my store and I am not letting a murderous, abusive bastard like you any closer."

Adrik laughed again. "And just how do you know me?"

Aiyana glanced between Jin and Adrik. Yes, how did her senpai know him? For just a moment, Jin's eyes flickered to her before focusing on his object of hatred. Itachi's face didn't show any interest, but she saw it in his eyes. He was just as curious as her.

Jin hesitated only a moment before saying a name softly, "Kaiya."

Aiyana felt her heart still. She hadn't spoken her mother's name since her death. She had hardly heard it at all in five years. There was the rare occasion when Haka would mutter about something her mother would or wouldn't do. It was few and far between and never caused her to lose her breath the way it did now. Her senpai knew her mother.

"Kaiya," Adrik repeated coldly. "I can tell just from your look, you loved her." And then he was grinning. "You were that samurai she had met."

Her senpai had loved her mother!

Jin pressed his lips together. "Get off of my doorstep!"

"Tzusaki-san, leave," Itachi suddenly ordered, cutting off whatever Adrik was about to say. "It is no longer necessary for you to accompany us."

To her surprise, Adrik didn't even argue. He laughed and nodded. "Very well, Uchiha-san. I have work to do anyways."

Jin remained tense until both Adrik and Tobi disappeared into the maze of Amegakure's streets. When they were no longer visible, his entire body relaxed and he let out a deep breath. His brown eyes scanned an extremely shocked Aiyana before giving her a lazy grin.

"So Ai-chan, what brings you to my doorstep tied to a Uchiha?" When she still only gapped at him in surprise, he turned his head to scan Itachi. "I suppose you're the older Uchiha. What's your name again? Itachi, am I right?"

"You are," Itachi confirmed.

"Well come on inside. I don't need more bugs in here than there already is."

Itachi stepped inside and tugged gently on the rope so Aiyana stumbled in after him. Jin gently closed the door behind them. Once it shut, Itachi untied the rope around his wrist and let it drop by Aiyana. She was still so clearly in a state of shock that he wasn't quite sure of what to say to her. Obviously finding out that this man was in love with her mother was something her mind couldn't quite wrap itself around.

Jin looked around questioningly before looking at Aiyana. "Where's your pup?"

Aiyana's face paled considerably. "Gone," she whispered.

"Shit," Jin muttered.

Sighing, he grabbed a hold of her shoulders, steering her through a hallway and to the right. Itachi followed. He walked into a drab, dirty, and claustrophobic kitchen. Aiyana had been placed at on a stool at the kitchen counter with a surprisingly clean glass of water placed in front of her. Jin leaned on the other side and watched Itachi enter and stand at the end of the counter, far enough away so nothing touched him.

"Akatsuki found her, huh?" Jin asked.

Itachi nodded.

"Shame. I had hoped that I had a while still."

"You knew Akatsuki wanted me?" Aiyana asked softly.

"Yes," Jin admitted reluctantly.

"Then why didn't you tell me!" she snapped angrily.

"Would you have believe me, Ai-chan? They've always been too busy chasing around bijuus to become an imminent threat to you. I thought it would have been better to wait until they became threat so you didn't live in fear that someone wanted to capture you. And honestly, I don't understand why they have such a sudden interest in you."

Again, Aiyana paled. "I-I stole from them."

"You stole from them?" Jin repeated.

She nodded.

"And what have I told you about the dangers of spontaneously stealing?"

Aiyana chewed on her lip. Itachi remembered her first day at the Akatsuki base when she had taken him to steal Tobi's book. Spontaneous stealing was dangerous and bound to get the thief in trouble. She obviously hadn't realized how prophetic her words were.

"Haka made me do it!" she blurted out. It wasn't necessarily true, but, hey, whatever kept her out of trouble with Jin.

Jin raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Haka? She should know better."

"It was important to her." She fidgeted and glanced down at her hands. Her eyes flickered to Itachi who seemed mildly surprised. She wasn't sure if it was because she was obviously being chastised for her stupidity or the news that Haka was the reason she stole the scroll. Either way, she shouldn't care much.

Her senpai sighed. "I suppose I should have at least warned Haka about Akatsuki. It was my mistake. Go take a shower, Ai-chan. I probably have some explaining to do when you get back."

Aiyana nodded and hopped off the stool. She paused by Itachi, eyes ablaze. "Don't hurt him," she threatened before dashing up around the corner up a hidden stairwell. Not moments afterwards, there was a shower running above them.

An awkward silence fell between Jin and Itachi. Jin tapped his fingers along his countertop and sighed remorsefully. "And somehow I end up with an Uchiha in my kitchen. Would you like something to drink Uchiha-san?"

Itachi tightened his lips and then nodded.

"You have a choice between beer and water." Jin smiled.

"Water," Itachi muttered.

Jin nodded and pulled out a cup and filled it with water from the tap. He passed it over to the Uchiha and grinned at him. "May I ask how Ai-chan lost Mingan?"

"I killed him," Itachi stated. He peered down into the glass where dust particles floated languidly on top. The cup looked like it hadn't been used or washed in days. Jin's face was unreadable and he felt compelled to add, "As was ordered of me."

"Ah," Jin exclaimed, "just like your clan?"

Itachi stiffened and brought his eyes back up to the older man. "What did you say?"

"Did you really think the elders in Konoha were the only ones to know of the Uchiha's planned coup d'état? They hid it well, but people have eyes and ears everywhere. Of course, there isn't much one can do with such information, so don't try to murder me like your eyes say you will. Besides, Aiyana would hate you even more if you harmed me." Jin continued to grin at him as if he was delighted by the frustration he was causing. "And has Aiyana figured it out yet? She's smart, you know."

Itachi squeezed the class in his hands. "She has suspicions and you are to tell her nothing." He loosened his grip and brought his red eyes up to meet Jin's playful brown eyes. The playfulness died immediately when he saw what Itachi intended to do. Immediately he dropped his eyes to the counter and frowned. "I should kill you."

"To keep your secret? I'm not the only thief who knows. As I've said, there's not much one can do with that kind of information. Blackmailing Konoha myself isn't an option because who would believe a mediocre shop owner from Amegakure? I could give the information to another country but I have no intentions of starting a war." Jin dared to bring his eyes up again and smiled. Itachi's eyes still burned red. "And you don't want Aiyana to hate you."

"What Shijo-san feels for me is no concern of mine," Itachi fumed. "How did you come about this information?"

"My career is information, Uchiha-san," Jin answered pleasurably, "And at that time, information is what your clan wanted. I was contracted to steal information from several files from ANBU on your clan for them."

Itachi was filled with surprise but managed to keep it from his face. The man in front of him was good enough to break into ANBU headquarters? No files had ever been stolen when he had worked on the Uchiha case, but it did not mean that they weren't copied. The shower above them turned off.

Jin tapped his fingers, catching Itachi's attention again. His light brown eyes held a tone of seriousness to them. He leaned in closer than Itachi would have liked and his voice dropped to something barely above a whisper. "I know you are not what you make yourself to be Uchiha-san and I do not trust you completely, but try to keep Ai-chan alive." He smiled at the young man. "For both of us."

Moments later Aiyana came back down the stairs. She seemed relieved to Itachi when she walked back into the kitchen and saw her senpai humming behind the counter. As she walked by he caught a whiff of the floral smelling products she had used. Her new clothes weren't covered in dirt and blood. Her eyes flickered momentarily to Itachi and she seemed almost self-conscious in her new clean state. Then her usually haughtiness returned to her.

"You should take a shower, Uchiha-san, considering how horrible you smell." She grinned at him. Itachi didn't move a muscle and her grin faded. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."

When Itachi still didn't move, Jin jumped in clearly wanting some private time with his student. "Don't worry, Uchiha-san. I won't abandon my shop and she won't abandon me. And you do smell horrible."

With a curt nod, Itachi turned and headed towards the stairs.

"Shower is second door to the right!" Jin shouted after him. He turned to Aiyana and smiled. "He's certainly a talkative man."

Aiyana perked up a brow. "If that's what you think." A momentary silence fell between them and very carefully Aiyana said, "Jin…I want to know."

Jin sighed and turned around. "I know. Ai, did Haka ever say anything about me?"

Aiyana frowned and thought back to her first meeting with Jin. A grimy, back alley in Amegakure so many years ago and she had curled herself into a ball desperate to be invisible. He came right up and flashed her a gorgeous, solemn smile. He told her how he had seen her before selling stolen goods. Before when she was trying to keep her mother alive. Then he offered her his hand and told her that he could make her so much better at it.

"Only one thing," Aiyana muttered. "That day we met and you offered me your hand, she said I could trust you."

Jin nodded and turned back to her. Taking in a deep breath, he started his story.

"I grew up in the Land of Iron, grown and bred as a samurai. I wasn't very good at it. Being a samurai requires honesty, strength, loyalty, teamwork, and on and on and on. The life never gave me much pleasure and I'd often got in trouble with my captains for being lazy and incompetent despite my skill with a blade. So when I was eighteen, I defected and became a rogue.

"I fled south to the ninja lands and started my life as a thief. It was a few months later that another aging thief found me and decided to train me and give me his name. It was then that I found myself in a community of thieves. Everyone was your friend and your enemy at certain times. If captured, you were helped. If imposing on another's mark, you were captured. You had to know how to play game. And I learned quickly.

B"ut I got arrogant. I realized that I had made a mistake on a theft and instead of pulling out like I should have, I decided to push through. It fell apart and I was injured and forced to flee. So I ran and ran until I found a run-down, unoccupied shack. Except it wasn't unoccupied. There was a woman with the most beautiful and alarming gold eyes I had ever seen and in her arms was a child. She was terrified of me, at least, until I fainted."

Aiyana smiled even though she felt some kind of hope in her deflate. Somewhere she hoped that her true father had been Jin, especially since he knew her mother. But if she had already been born by the time they first met, there was no way her hopes could be true. Jin continued.

"Kaiya wasn't much of a healer. The only thing she could do was clean the wounds, wrap them, and hope they healed. She was always wary of me and extremely protective of you. I could tell that someone had hurt her before. But she was beautiful and so soft hearted. I healed more quickly than I cared to and insisted that I stay a few weeks in order to repay her. She tried to deny me but I was persistent and often found myself sleeping outside. I would do shopping and other odd jobs for her while she cared for you. It wasn't long before the nearby village became suspicious of me and associated me with the demon woman.

"A few weeks after that, I left but promised to return. And I did. Every few weeks I would come back to Kaiya and help her with mundane tasks. Eventually she became to open up to me and one day, she told me everything."

Aiyana felt herself stiffen. The heaviness that everything held felt like a warning. She glanced away from Jin to see Itachi standing at the bottom of the stairs. His face was solemn and bordered by his long straight black hair that she noticed wasn't held back and was wet. He held her gaze for a moment and then gave a gentle nod. Encouragement. He was encouraging her.

With a shaky breath, she looked back at Jin, "what did she tell you?"

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><p><strong>Cat's Notes<strong>

Okay so about Jin. He was a character that I wasn't planning on introducing until the sequel but since I'm not entirely sure there will be a sequel I decided to bring him in now. He's obviously more of a father figure than Adrik ever was and is Aiyana's mentor.

Now about Jin's claim on knowing Itachi's history. I'll admit it's a bit of a stretch but at times of war (or almost war) it would have made sense for the clan to employ someone not directly associated with them (in case that person was caught) or their enemy to steal and gather information. Jin would have been extremely skilled as a thief at that time. The time of the Uchiha massacre was just before Aiyana's mother passed away so in the years before that Jin was used as an informant for the Uchiha clan. He actually has a few documents in the shop he owns that he had stolen from Konoha and the Uchiha themselves.

Anyways I just wanted to give more background on Aiyana's mother. In the next chapter there will be more background on Adrik's relationship with her mother.

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